


The City of Clay

by countconiine



Series: The Avatar Space Fleet [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Action, Complete, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, I totally made them into astronauts ok, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, also there's science!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25075612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countconiine/pseuds/countconiine
Summary: A space mission onto an unfamiliar planet leads to more than the crew expected. The crash was one problem, but uncovering the dark events affecting the strange inhabitants is another.What's more, the Avatar's space fleet has a new engineer on board, and Korra is unusually keen to meet them.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: The Avatar Space Fleet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883101
Comments: 138
Kudos: 248





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My Nano Camp project for this July! 50,000 words here I come!

"Commander Korra," she lifted her welding helmet, "I'm Asami Sato. A pleasure to meet you." She took off her heat resistant gloves and shook the commander's hand.

"Likewise." The Avatar studied the woman. She had piercing green eyes, and her face was smudged with grease. She hadn't expected the new engineering officer to be so beautiful. "How are things?"

"We'll be ready for take-off in the morning. There's nothing wrong with the fusion reactors and the circuitry is perfect. I'm just hooking up the last few transducers but as you know there's no telling whether we'll have signal so far into space."

Korra nodded. "It'll be a quick mission." The mess of wires and components under the ship's hull was indecipherable to her. She searched for something else to ask about, just so she could talk with the woman a while longer. "Do you need any help?"

Asami smiled. She was young, but she had dealt with a fair share of commanders. They were all as useless as the next, and Korra being the Avatar would likely not change that. "No, thank you. I've got it." She fitted the bonnet back onto the ship. The print across the alloy slotted together to read "SS Raava".

* * *

"Korra? Hello?"

Bolin was waving his hand in front of her face. She slapped it away. "Huh? What?"

"I said there's a message from General Iroh. Did you even hear me?"

"Of course I did. Pass it here." She held her hand out for the tablet. A holographic Iroh looked at her impatiently.

"Ah, I seem to be finally through to you, Commander. You're nearing the edge of our transmission range. I've taken this opportunity to send the finalized report on the Planet Kythera. In short, the atmosphere is breathable and there are no traces of toxic compounds on the surface. Unfortunately, we have no records on the way the inhabitants communicate, so your earpieces will not be programmed to translate their language. Make do with what you can."

"Thank you, General. I'll have Mako look over the rest." She looked over at the firebender. He was focused on the control panel of the ship, monitoring every sensor reading. He stressed too much. "Don't worry about us. We'll be in and out."

"You must make sure they get the aid supplies," the General continued. "And make sure their communities have the means to thrive. Help them in any way you can."

She tried her best not to roll her eyes. This is what they did every time, she didn't need a recap. "Will do, Sir." She shifted the tablet into her left hand and saluted.

"We'll see you soon," the General said before disconnecting.

"God he's a bore." She handed the tablet to Bolin and threw her head back against the seat.

"That makes two of you."

"Shut up, Kuvira."

The lieutenant sniggered before handing out the rations between them. They were little satchels of dried, compressed food of various flavors.

"Where's Asami?" Korra asked.

"You're on a first-name basis already?"

"I don't usually call anyone by their titles I don't know why you pick on me for it."

Kuvira sat down at her position at the ship's steering panel. There had been nothing to maneuver through so she had a quiet trip. "When have you really cared what the engineers do down there anyway?"

"I don't I was just wondering. Does she have lunch with her?"

Her grin widened. "You better go find out."

Korra furrowed her brows but she held back her snark reply. She got up and headed out of the control room and down the corridors of the ship. If she was honest she had only been down there once before, and she hadn't liked it. The entry point was in what they called the "handyman corner" of the ship, a makeshift storage room of the different tools and components needed in case of emergency. On the floor was a large trapdoor leading down into the bowels of the ship's parts.

She twisted the lever and propped it open, heading down the ladder. The lower she got the hotter it became and she wondered how Asami could work down here for so long. Pipes ran alongside her in every direction, and she ducked as she headed further in, walking through a maze of boilers and screens she couldn't understand.

"Asami?" she called out.

There was no response for a while until a voice finally replied. "Over here!"

The Avatar followed the sound, afraid to touch anything. For all she knew, anything down here could bring the ship down if it were to break.

She found the engineer kneeling by the large, central unit, a bottle of clear fluid in her hand. She poured some down into the funnel-shaped tube that wound down into the floor.

"So what's that?"

She looked up at the commander. "Coolant for the reactor. The model of the ship is outdated and the cooling isn't so efficient but it works out anyway."

"Raava sure is an old girl." Korra stared at the large, leaded cylinder. It was lined with sensors and readings. "I was wondering if you had lunch with you or if you wanted me to bring you something."

She got up and dusted her trousers off. She had beads of sweat trickling down her temples and a few locks of hair stuck to her forehead despite her trying to wipe her face with her gloves. "It's alright, I always bring something down with me." She smiled. "Thank you, though."

Korra nodded. "How do you work down here? It's so hot."

"I'm used to it. I hear the planet we're going to isn't much different."

Now Korra wished she had read the report from Iroh. She dreaded hot temperatures, and their uniforms were all long-sleeved, unlike Asami who didn't need one. She noticed she had let the top half of her overalls hang around her waist, leaving her in a white tank top with grease stains. There was a thin layer of glistening sweat on her toned shoulders. Korra stared absentmindedly as the engineer turned to note the readings from the energy sensors.

"Do you need any help?"

Asami smiled again and held back a sigh. "Sure. Why don't you match the hydraulic pressures? The spanner's over there." She nodded towards her toolbox on the floor.

The Avatar blinked twice. "The... how?"

She looked over her shoulder at the commander, a playful smirk on her lips. "I've got everything. Go back up there and run the ship. Let me know when we're preparing to land."

Korra rubbed the back of her neck. "Seems you're running the ship more than I am." She gestured towards everything around them, and Asami chuckled. "We won't be long now."

She headed back up to the control room, not realizing she was smiling as she entered.

"Did she reject you already?" Kuvira asked.

Korra rolled her eyes. "You know I could technically fire you, right?"

"Now? Should I let go of the steering?" She motioned towards the approaching planet. The radars were picking up the gravitational field and displaying it on the screen, calculating the angle and speed of entry.

"Just... be quiet."

"Shields are live, ready for entry, Flight Lieutenant," Mako said.

"Rooms are secure." Bolin came back and took his seat, fastening his seatbelt.

The crew's playfulness had gone and their faces turned serious.

"15 seconds to atmosphere, Commander."

Korra fastened herself in her own seat, pulling up her own control panel. Holograms of the ship's integrity and of their environment lit up in front of her. She picked up her tablet and connected through to Asami.

"Status for landing."

"Sensors are operational and engines are healthy, Commander. No warnings. Proceed." Asami had checked everything one last time before strapping herself onto her own seat down in the hull, holding the toolbox tightly so it wouldn't go flying during the process.

"Permission to initiate granted, Lieutenant."

Kuvira nodded. "5 seconds to atmosphere."

Korra watched the planet approach out of the corner of her eye, keeping track of the readings coming in on her screen and looking out for warnings.

"Entering atmosphere. Watch shield status."

"Shields at 100%," Mako replied.

"270 miles to surface. Velocity 17,420 miles per hour. Acceleration under control."

"Temperatures increasing rapidly."

"255 miles to surface."

Mako hesitated. "Temperatures above threshold. Primary core shield deteriorating."

"Shouldn't be. Acceleration is under control. Velocity constant." Kuvira checked her controls and reading again. "240 miles to surface."

"Primary core shield at 42%."

The Lieutenant frowned. "Commander, the acceleration is under control. Requesting system diagnosis for heat profiles. 225 miles to surface."

Korra's eyes darted over the diagram of the ship. The tension readings were highlighted in red. She ran the program, but no malfunctions were found.

"Systems fully operational, Flight Lieutenant."

"Primary core shield down. Secondary shield live at 98%."

"Kuvira, what's going on?" Korra looked up from her screen. The ship's front was glowing red hot.

"Nothing! We should be descending normally!"

"Secondary shield sustaining severe heat damage. Health at 53%." Despite his calm voice, Mako was sweating. Warnings flashed across his screens.

"Manual override granted," Korra said. "Initiate full braking power."

Kuvira closed down the system's programmed landing procedures and went full manual. She pulled the lever towards her as much as it would go. Outside, the ship's thrusters spun round to propel them in the opposite direction. The ship's engine was being used as a brake.

"Secondary shield at 8%. Preparing emergency shield."

"Velocity down to 15400 miles per hour. Acceleration is now negative. 198 miles to surface."

"Alright, temperature signals returning to normal. Secondary shield holding on at 2%."

Korra let out a sigh of relief, before looking back at her screen. Her heart dropped as the final warning flashed across her screen.

"Commander," Kuvira fumbled with her controls, "emergency engine brakes have gone offline. Acceleration positive, rising quickly."

_WARNING: Critical Engine Failure_

"Shit."

"Commander!" Mako raised his voice. "Secondary shield offline. Emergency shield live at 94%. Estimated life is 10 seconds."

The Avatar grabbed the tablet and patched herself through to Asami. "Asami! What's happened?" There was no response. "Asami!" She threw the tablet to the side and unbuckled herself.

"Korra, don't!" Bolin shouted after her as she ran out of the control room.

She sprinted down the corridors and threw the trapdoor open, the air hissing with the change of pressure. She rushed down the ladder, jumping down when she could see the ground beneath her.

"Asami!" She yelled, her lungs stinging with the intense heat. The pipes around her were rattling and all the readings were in the red. She dashed around the tight maze, back to the fusion reactor where she found the engineer with her tools scattered in chaos. She had opened the control panel to expose the manual override controls.

"Fusion's gone offline," she panted. "Pressure's low and heat is escaping." She struggled with the controls with her spanner, tightening them until her arms burnt. "The system's unresponsive. I can't restore them. I- I've never seen anything like this."

"We're down to the emergency shield."

If she could hear her she wasn't showing it. "Hydrogen is depressurizing. What the fuck? How?!" She screamed in frustration.

The floor started shaking. "Commander!" Kuvira's voice from the control room resonated in the speakers. "107 miles to surface. We're free falling! You must take cover NOW!"

"Asami! Leave it!"

"If the hydrogen tanks leak we'll never get back!"

"ASAMI! We need to-"

A sudden jerk in the ship sent them flying into the pipes lining the wall. The sturdy titanium held, but their backs scorched.

"Asami, go and put your seatbelt on!"

"But the-"

"Officer, that's an order!"

They struggled to their feet against the ship's quakes. Against the turbulence, Korra noticed the unsecured toolbox.

"Look out!" She threw herself against Asami, shielding her as the ship jerked violently again. The metal box went flying, smacking hard against Korra's temple. She grunted, immense pain coursing through her head. The thud against her skull resonated deeply and it took everything in her to stay awake. She felt blood running down the side of her face, but she ignored it. "Get down on the ground." She managed to say. They were too close to crashing, it was too late to take their seats.

They laid flat on the floor, hands on the backs of their heads. Korra shifted to shield Asami as much as she could with her own body, waiting for the worst to come.

"Imminent crash, Commander! 3 seconds to impact!" Kuvira's voice rang.

"Fuck. Korra, you're bleeding."

"Shh. Hold on tight."

_Come on Raava, old girl. Keep us safe._

The ground beneath them shook, before coming to an abrupt stop. The thud was deafening, and the sudden impact launched them forward against the wall, Asami crashing against Korra's arms, but the Avatar felt the full force of the titanium against her body. They heard the burst of the pipes and the room filled with hot steam. They coughed, struggling to breathe, their skin burning.

"We need to get out of here," Asami said. She could barely see Korra through the steam, but she could make out the scarlet trickles across her face. "Commander!" She yelled. She shook her a few times but she didn't answer. "Korra!" Her body went limp against her. Full of adrenaline, she didn't feel her own injuries and focused on dragging the Avatar's body away. She got close enough to the wall to slam the intercom. "Need help down here! Korra's injured!"

She wasn't sure whether the intercom still worked, but she hoped so as she dragged the commander away from the reactor towards the ladder. She was panting and nearly out of breath. Her bones ached and her shoulder was stinging intensely. She didn't dare think of what bones she may have broken, but the pain was excruciating enough that she had an idea.

Above her, she heard the trap door open. She squinted. The light hurt her eyes, but she saw Bolin coming down the ladder. His face was bruised and his lip was split.

"I can carry her." His eyes were seeing but not understanding. He was full of adrenaline as he grabbed Korra's limp body and hauled her back up with him. Mako came back after him and helped Asami up.

The ship's automatic emergency procedure triggered and the corridors were lined with lights leading to the exits. The alarm sounded, but there was no warning of impending explosions. Just as she had said, the fusion reactor had gone completely bust.

They brought them to the medical wing, or what was left of it. The ship was severely damaged, but all of the supplies had been safely locked away so none had come loose during the crash. They laid the commander down on the surgical bed and Mako checked her breathing.

"She's breathing fine," he said.

Asami's shoulder scorched and the pain radiated throughout her bones. She sat on the floor against the wall to steady herself, watching as Mako and Bolin tended to Korra. They weren't severely injured themselves, meaning the ship's emergency landing systems were still functional. The cockpit was the safest place for them to be. She wondered where Kuvira was.

"Is the Flight Lieutenant alright?" she asked.

"Er, yeah!" Bolin answered, struggling to cut a bandage without tangling it. "She's trying to get through to General Iroh." He fitted the cloth around Korra's head to stop the bleeding.

"It's useless. There's no signal this far out."

"It's standard procedure after a crash," Mako said.

That should have been the commander's job, but Kuvira was second in rank so it fell onto her.

Korra let out a groan as she came to. She squinted and tried to lift her head. The room was spinning. She winced at the sudden surge of pain rushing through her head and she laid back down on the bed.

"We've landed and we're all fine, Korra," Mako said, bringing her a glass of water.

She took a long gulp. "How's the ship?"

"Well err..." he looked over at Asami. "We haven't really checked yet."

The engineer stood up slowly, steadying herself against the wall with her good arm. "I'll run a diagnostic soon, Commander."

"Are you alright?"

She looked down into her blue eyes. They were bloodshot and shiny with tears from the pain. "Yes. Thank you. You saved me down there."

Korra waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing." She sat up, grunting through her pain. "Get me some more water. I'll try and heal us."

* * *

"SS Raava requesting emergency help, come in."

There was no response. The line spewed out an ugly static.

"This is Flight Lieutenant Kuvira, requesting emergency aid, come in."

Nothing. She dropped the tablet back onto the table and let out an exasperated sigh. She looked out of the windscreen. The mesh of polymers had held against the impact enough not to cause a leak, but the internal layers had shattered, held together by their coating. The windows looked like a mess of fibers, but she could just about make out the terrain outside.

The planet's soil was a dark, burnt orange and looked completely dry. Gusts of orange dust blew against the ship. The sandstorm made it difficult to see ahead so she booted up the sonars to check. Even in the chaos, she had still tried to hit their planned landing location, though it was difficult to steer the ship without thrust. She ran the scan, trying to pick up their coordinates. She grinned. They hadn't landed far.

"Well done, Kuvira," she spoke to herself. "Of course you did it."

"Kuvira?" She turned to see Bolin standing in the door, a bowl of water in his hands. "Are you injured? Korra is going to try and heal."

She looked at her bruised arms and noticed her ears rang from the impact. She probably had a concussion. "No. I'm fine."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

The water was warm and she felt the pins and needles in her shoulder reside. Though Korra insisted she was never a good healer, she had done an acceptable job of herself. Even so, Asami couldn't take her eyes off the tablet she held, awaiting anxiously for the system diagnostics to be done.

"Don't worry guys!" Bolin said. "We'll find a way out! There's nothing we can't fix, right?"

The engineer smiled half-heartedly. Of course there were things they couldn't fix.

"How does it feel?"

"Better, thank you." She looked at the Commander, who let the water drop back into the bowl. Her face was still bruised, but she seemed to be in less pain.

"We need to head out soon." Korra limped over to the wall and pressed on the intercom. "Kuvira, scan the area, find out where we are."

"Already done." The Lieutenant's voice rang back, "We're a couple of miles east from our landing point."

Impressive. "Get ready then. We're heading out."

"You sure you're alright to head out like that?" Mako motioned towards the state of the Commander.

"It could be worse. Now unload some water and supplies to take with us. We'll find the Kytherans and hopefully they'll help us unload the aid packages."

"What are they like?" Asami asked. The system diagnostic was taking so long.

"I have no clue. They're not in our database so we won't be able to translate their language either," Korra said. "But I'm sure they're fine."


	2. Chapter 2

The doors hissed as the cabin depressurized. The air outside was hot and heavy. The crew coughed a few times, wrapping cloths over their noses against the flying dust. Their rucksacks were loaded with supplies in case the nearest town was further than they thought.

"Stay close together," Korra said. The sand storm was making it difficult to see each other.

"Looking at the weather patterns, it seems like we're the ones who caused this," Bolin said, looking down at his tablet. "Probably when we crashed down."

They headed out, traipsing through the dust. The ground was hard and cracking, and there were no signs of life. The planet would have definitely looked desolate if it weren't for the sonars picking up life forms in a couple of miles.

Asami looked back at the ship. The bodywork had taken a heavy beating, but what she was most concerned about was the engines. The system diagnostic had never been able to finish, and she feared there was something more deeply wrong with the internal circuitry. There was no telling how advanced the life forms on Kythera were, and whether they would even have the materials available for her to fix it. Their only hope was the distress signal they sent out into space, hoping Iroh would pick it up eventually.

The Commander limped slightly, but she wasn't letting herself slow down the others. She had a dull pain in her hip, and her head still throbbed. She would have loved to think more critically about their situation but her headache was making it impossible. The air felt like it was pressing down on her lungs and she wiped the drops of sweat trickling down her forehead.

"Not long now," Kuvira said, looking up from the sonar readings. She squinted against the sand storm. "We should come across a town soon."

There was a sound in the distance. The voice was an indecipherable mess of syllables and high pitched sounds. They paused, listening attentively. Against the dust, a silhouette formed. It let out the same sound again.

Korra stepped forward. "Hello?"

The silhouette was followed by two more. Coming into view, they were strange, tall creatures. Their skin was rough and khaki. They held up their hands, showing two bulbous fingers and one opposable thumb. Their palms leaked a clear, slimy ooze.

Unsure what was happening, the Commander raised her hand too, looking back at the others for help, but no one knew what to do.

The creatures let out a series of noises, their snouts contorting as they seemed to speak. Their eyes were solid black and their lips were thick. As they spoke, they exposed their toothless gums and abrasive tongues.

"We picked up your distress signal. We brought you help."

The Kytherans tilted their heads. They didn't seem to understand.

Korra took her backpack off and picked up a bottle of water. "Supplies." She said.

They studied the clear liquid, holding out their hands. The Commander placed the bottle in one of their slimy palms and the creature opened it, pouring it onto its skin and sharing it with the others.

"I think... that's how they drink?" Bolin said. His eyes were wide in shock.

"Alright, enough of this." Kuvira stepped forward. "Can you take us to your city? Your C-I-T-Y?"

"Kuvire they won't understand-"

The creatures started walking away, looking behind them towards the crew until they followed. The sand storm seemed to be dying down the further they got from the crater their ship left and they started being able to see the mud structures they were being brought to.

"Fascinating," Asami exclaimed, staring at the buildings around her.

The reports had mentioned the ground being made primarily of clay, and the creatures had used it to build large, although slanted, structures. There was no sight of them having used any other materials, so their doors and windows were merely gaps in the walls. The ground on the makeshift roads was smoothened - like the cracks had been filled up with more clay so they wouldn't hurt their feet. Most importantly, the town was bustling with creatures, each draped in tattered cloths.

The engineer had so many questions, from what they ate, and drank, to how they spun their clothes and made their dyes.

There were merchants, each with their own stalls set up in a plaza, underneath which the ground was decorated with painted engravings in the clay. They hung their wares from their stalls, and some lugged them around on large, beefy creatures with dark grey skin, like rhinos but with droopy, flattened faces.

"We'd need some of those to unload the supplies," Korra said towards the others. "We just need to find a way to ask them for a couple."

The Kytherans led them inside one of the clay buildings. They spoke with another of their kind, seemingly to introduce the newcomers, and they gestured towards their backpacks. The creature, probably the keeper of the makeshift hotel, lit up and motioned quickly for the crew to follow them up the stairs. They showed them to a room and spoke excitedly in their language.

"This will be fine, thank you." Korra bowed her head, trying to figure out something that the creature will understand. They didn't seem to respond and instead stared at her with wide, expecting eyes. "We have more supplies at the ship." She gestured towards her backpack. "More." She waved her arm in the air. "At the ship." She pointed back towards the way they came.

The Kytheran thought for a moment. They blinked a few times, a thin membrane passing over their eyes. They then proceeded to shake their head and motioned towards the bunk beds in the room.

"He wants us to rest?" Mako said.

"Something's strange," Kuvira mumbled.

The Kytheran made sure they all sat down on their beds, clasped their hands together, and turned to head back down.

Korra stood up and tried to follow them. "You know, we really wouldn't mind unloading the supplies now-"

The creature turned back quickly and motioned for Korra to sit back down in a panic. They let out a series of high pitched noises like yelps. The Commander was taken aback and did as she was told, watching as the Kytheran hurried back downstairs.

"What was that?" she said.

Asami was peeking out the window, trying to get a better look at the architecture of the buildings around them.

"I don't like this! What if we're being kept prisoners?" Bolin brought his knees to his chest. "Do you think they eat people?"

"Bolin, they barely used any force against us we could literally walk downstairs right now." Mako rolled his eyes.

His brother calmed down slightly. "Yeah yeah you're right."

"I don't understand. Why wouldn't they want the supplies?" Korra furrowed her brows. "They've been waiting for them for so long. The distress signal must have taken years to reach us."

"They're hiding us from something." Kuvira had already taken to picking the room apart, looking through the various objects stored in a chest at the end of their beds. They were strange tools, perhaps they used them for cooking. "It's obvious. They want us to stay out of sight. They brought us here too quickly."

"Hiding from what?"

"I wonder if it's those things." Asami leaned forward to get a better look through the window.

The crew gathered around her. Marching through the plaza was a group of robots, bright white against the brown clay. The metal gleamed in the sun, and they seemed to patrol the plaza, their faces scanning through the produce from the merchants. The crew watched in shock as they started taking items from the Kytherans. They took away tools and materials and destroyed them by breathing fire onto them, while the merchants stood and watched.

"Are those... fire breathing robots?" Bolin whispered.

"They're... so advanced," Asami replied. "They don't belong to the Kytherans."

Korra's heart dropped. "Is someone invading them?"

Once the robots were done with the market, they turned their eyes to the buildings. They seemed to be inspecting them as they headed inside.

"Shit. Everyone hide!" Korra whispered.

They crawled under the beds, hearing a robot talking to the Kytheran downstairs. The robots seemed to have learnt the creatures' language, and they understood each other. Somehow, the Kytheran had bluffed well enough, and they heard the robot march out.

Asami crawled back to the window, peeking out carefully. The robots were finishing up their inspections, and they were headed away from the plaza.

"I think we're good now." She watched as the merchants inspected their charred wares, holding the ashes in their hands as if they would turn back into the items they've lost. The engineer felt for them, but also wondered why the robots were only picking out certain things from them. Their destruction looked calculated like they were searching for specific items.

Everyone crawled back out, stretching and grunting.

"Seems we have a lot more to look into than we thought," the Commander said. "Whatever's controlling those robots can't be good."

They heard footsteps coming up and turned to see the Kytheran in the doorway. They were panting, their nostrils flaring in and out. They said something before gesturing towards their backpacks and covering their eyes.

"We can't let them see the supplies we're bringing to them," Korra said. "I suppose the robots might burn them too."

"I don't think it's safe for us to be posted here," Kuvira said. "I think we should head back to the ship and sleep there. We'll investigate the robots when we come up with a plan. Until then we can't do much else."

"We can't leave the Kytherans!" Bolin said. "What if the robots hurt them?"

"They look used to them, they've probably come and gone many times before. Do you want to get captured by robots, Bolin?"

"Do you want to help the Kytherans, Kuvira?"

"Cut it out!" Korra said. "We should check the database and see if the robots match details of any other known civilization. We might have an idea of what we're dealing with, which unfortunately means we have to follow Kuvira's idea."

They looked at the Kytheran. They looked at the crew with a confused expression. It was a shame they couldn't explain the plan to them, so they tried their best to say they'll be back soon. The creature seemed to understand the gist of it and walked them outside. Before they left, they seemed to plead with them again to stay out of sight.

"We got it, thanks." Korra waved as they headed out.

The Kytherans throughout the city stared at them, wide-eyed. They seemed to be full of hope.

The sandstorm had died down by now, and they found their ship again more easily. It was far enough away from the city that they hoped the robots wouldn't notice it, though the sudden gusts of sand would have definitely risen some suspicion.

"We could get attacked at any point," Kuvira said. "How is the nonbender going to defend herself?"

"I've got my own things, thanks." Asami didn't seem keen to elaborate further.

"Just don't hold us back in a fight."

"Enough, Kuvira. It's not your job to survey the crew," Korra said. "Just go search the database. Mako, check if there's anything coming in from Iroh and Bolin go see how badly our stores are damaged. Asami if you could err... fix things with the ship?" She rubbed the back of her neck as they walked into the ship.

"I'll try and run the diagnostic again but my guess is there's something wrong with the hardware. I'll be down in the hull trying to rewire things if you need me."

"Yeah... brilliant. You do that." She gave her an awkward smile before the engineer headed off.

"You're really blowing it, you know that?" Kuvira said, opening the door to the cockpit.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And I'm not blowing anything."

The Lieutenant took her seat. The cockpit looked thrashed and a couple of the control panels were cracked but they were still coming on. Kuvira typed in her password and the database lit up on her screen. Luckily that was still working.

"I wish there was a search option for pillaging robots," she muttered as she searched the records.

Seeing everyone doing something made Korra realize she hadn't given herself a job. Thinking about it, she felt terribly helpless. The mission she was in charge of had spiraled out of control. First the crash, and now the unknown robots destroying the Kytherans' supplies. She didn't want to admit it but she felt out of her depth. None of them had seen anything like this before.

"I'm going to uh... check on things," she said before leaving Mako and Kuvira behind in the cockpit. She thought about going to help Bolin record the damage, but she felt unable to deal with his endless positivity right now. Her head still ached but she couldn't bring herself to rest while everyone else was working.

Without thinking, she headed into the handyman corner, staring absentmindedly at the tools and components that were scattered in the crash. She sighed, wanting to go down and check on Asami, before deciding she would probably be a nuisance to her. She didn't know anything about how the ship worked and Asami was an engineer, not a babysitter.

She headed down the corridor towards the exit. She opened the door into the buffer, a sealed cabin separating the ship from the outside world. She was sprayed with a fine mist of disinfectant before stepping out.

_This damned heat._

She walked off eastwards, thinking of scouting the area. Their knowledge of the planet was limited, and so were their supplies - if she could find a source of water somewhere it would be a huge help. The ground around her was flat, but in the distance, she spotted what seemed to be a wide gap in the cracked clay. It might have been a canyon of some sort.

The Commander tapped her earpiece to make sure it was still online. The device beeped a few times. It was still on, should she need to contact the ship at any point.

Her hip had started to let up as she made her way over, suns bearing down on her. Kythera was special from this aspect, and the two stars it orbited gave it its hot, dry climate. One of them was larger than the other, but they both beat down harshly on the land. No wonder it was so hard to find food and water, and Korra wondered how the Kytherans even survived this long.

She came up to the edge of the canyon and peered down. The depth of it was bigger than she anticipated, and she had to squint to make out the bottom. The ground there was a dark navy blue and it sprouted a range of peculiar flora. There were spiky, red bushes and small tree-like plants emerging from the soil. The Commander frowned, shocked to see the ground there blossoming with life, and yet still no sign of water anywhere. She was about to airbend her way down to take a look when she jumped at the sound of an engine coming towards her.

The horde of robots found her. They used a large truck to transport themselves across the desert, wheels coughing up dust behind them. The windscreen was cracked, but Korra counted 5 inside the car.

She backed up as they came to a stop, feeling the edge of the cliff against her heel. The machines hurried out, pointing their arms at her. She squinted against the suns, making out the guns attached to their forearms.

There was no time to think. She threw herself away from the cliff just as they fired, energy beams hitting the ground, leaving craters and black smoke behind. She airbended to break her fall, landing softly on her side, and kicked violently towards the horde, shooting flames.

The robots dodged, and the one that was hit was thrown back, but seemed unaffected by the flames. His metal casing shone just as bright, undented.

As they rallied to fire again, she lifted a wall of clay between her and them to protect herself, eyes wide as the energy beams passed right through it. She writhed on the floor, narrowly avoiding them, before springing to her feet. The shield she built collapsed on itself and the robots advanced, arms out, charging up their attacks. She levitated herself, air circling wildly underneath her. She lashed out, hurling a gust of wind towards them, eyeing the edge of the canyon at their backs.

The robots were taken by surprise and they blundered, letting themselves be knocked off balance by the wind. They dropped down and dug their fingers into the soil to steady themselves, resisting the gusts. One of them lost his grip and he went flying backwards, clinging faintly onto the edge of the cliff before hurtling down.

Korra let up, tiring herself out and dropping back down. Before the robots could regain their balance she thrust the ground beneath them diagonally, sending them through the air. They crashed down in a messy pile with a loud metallic clang and she took the opportunity to airbend them down the cliff again, this time sending them all to their doom.

"Holy shit," she whispered. She walked over to the edge to admire her work, looking down at the pile of robotic bodies that laid crushed on the floor of the canyon. The metal was destroyed, and their circuits gave off sparks. "Bastards."

She went to back up when she felt something grab her ankle. It yanked her and she fell back against the ground, seeing the metal hand clasped tightly around her leg. She kicked at it, but it didn't seem to feel pain as it pulled her further, making her slide towards the cliff's edge. As she neared, she saw the face of the robot who had managed to save himself, dragging Korra with one arm and grasping the edge of the canyon with the other, his body dangling freely.

The Commander kicked a ball of fire towards him, knocking his head back but his grip didn't falter. She looked at the hand he used to hold himself up and lifted the ground under it. The robot's arm was yanked upwards and he lost his grip, dragging Korra further as he fell down.

"Shit!" She didn't think this through.

They were both dangling off the edge now and Korra was heaving them back up. She grunted as she climbed back onto solid ground, unfortunately bringing the robot back with her. As she brought herself up, lying down and panting on the hot ground, he stood up and pointed his gun at her. She saw the beam charging inside the gun's barrel and she roared, breathing fire against him, knocking him onto his back.

The beam went flying into the air as the Avatar looked down on the robot. She saw his arms were loose. He had probably damaged them when he pulled himself back up, but that meant he was struggling to stand, his own arms not able to support his body weight anymore. She considered flinging him off the cliff with the others but she had a better idea.

"You're coming back with me."

As she approached, he breathed fire at her, but she sidestepped out of the way.

"You're not going to do that anymore." She grabbed a chunk of clay and forced it into his mouth, before yanking his arms off. The metal snapped off, and she stared at the makeshift shoulder joint for a while. It sparked a little bit.

She hauled him up, realizing how heavy he was, and pushed him to walk, taking his arms with her. Asami might want to have a look at how he works.

"We'll see exactly what you are back at the ship."

She tapped her earpiece to let the other know what she'll be bringing but winced as it just spewed out static. She took it out and shook it, but that didn't fix it.

_Strange. It was working fine before._


	3. Chapter 3

The robot flinched as the disinfectant sprayed down on him, but Korra took no notice and shoved him further into the ship. She led him down the corridor and into the cockpit. Her earpiece buzzed slightly, irritating her, but she ignored it. She might ask Asami what was wrong with it later.

"You're finally back," Kuvira said. "It was nice of you to leave and not say anything." She turned to give Korra a disgruntled look, but froze when she saw the robot she was leading. "What the fuck."

Mako turned to look too, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"I got attacked by five of these guys but I brought one back. It would be useful to know what they are." She looked around. Bolin was probably still surveying the damage and Asami was still down in the hull of the ship. "Get on the intercom. Tell everyone to come see." She made the robot sit down in her chair, and he obeyed, powerless without his weapons.

"Asami, Bolin, get up here," Mako said, looking at the robot one more time as though it would attack him if he turned away. "Korra's got something."

It wasn't long before the two of them joined the crew in the cockpit, and Asami let out a gasp.

"You caught one!" She said. "That's brilliant!"

"Thanks." The Commander dropped his arms on the floor with a loud clang.

"He most probably won't cooperate with us at all," Asami said. "But we could open him and find his hard disk, or his processing unit. If we can't access his information directly then maybe we can reprogram him to help us. Or at least not to try and kill us."

"Sounds like a plan."

The engineer grabbed the screwdriver from her overalls pocket and walked up to him, holding his head steady, looking for a way in. She unscrewed the back of his head and the casing dropped off, exposing his hardware.

"Looks pretty standard," she said as she examined the parts. "I can't see everything but it's as you'd expect. A motherboard, storage, processor..." she trailed off as she started unscrewing the first component. As the motherboard came loose, the robot powered down and he went limp against the chair. Asami cast the board aside for now, laying it down on the edge of the seat, and unscrewed the hard disk, reaching further into his skull for it.

The rest of the crew gathered around her to watch as she pulled out the rectangular disk.

"This is what we're after," she said. "Let's try and see if it boots up on our systems." She handed it to Mako and he hurried to plug it into his control panel.

A series of numbers flashed across the screen as the ship deciphered the contents of the hard disk. It took a few minutes before the program came back with an error message.

"It's... empty," Mako said.

The crew stared at the screen.

Kuvira sniggered. "Of course the one robot you bring back is an airhead."

"Oh be quiet."

"That's interesting though." Asami picked up the motherboard. She examined each component, squinting, trying to understand the numbers inscribed into the tiny metallic parts. The symbols were different from the ones they knew, of course, but the patterns didn't suggest a particular base either. The symbols appeared almost random, with no logical sequence. She had seen the number lines of so many different species, but this one made no sense. "I can't make sense of their inscriptions either. Perhaps our software can't even read it."

She studied the components. There was one that caught her eye. She flipped the board over to follow the soldering, tracing the thin line of alloy. The component linked directly to the processor, but nowhere else. If it fed the robot instructions, it was too small to be storing them within itself.

"A receiver," she said. "The robots receive information remotely." She picked up her pliers and carefully undid the component, holding the tiny square gently between her fingers. "We might intercept something if we hook this up on our mainframe. Let me see one of your tablets."

Korra reached over and grabbed hers own off the side. She handed it to Asami as the crew crowded around the engineer.

She opened up the back of the tablet and looked around for something to link the component up with. She didn't have any solder with her and instead jammed the component into the motherboard, probably cutting off another pathway that didn't seem so important. She could always fix the tablet later.

The screen booted back up and they waited for something to happen. If the processor had to specifically request information from the receiver it would be impossible for them to guess the right code, but they hoped the receiver would just override the system's commands. After all, the robots didn't have free will.

"Why isn't it working? Is it broken?" Bolin whispered.

"Korra probably broke it."

"And what was I supposed to do, Kuvira? Let him kill me?"

"No, funerals are expensive."

"Guys stop arguing," Bolin said.

"We're not arguing!"

"Well you're stressing me out!"

"I'm not doing anyth-"

The screen went blue and the tablet let out a long, high pitched sound. The crew winced and covered their ears, swearing against the noise. Then, the tablet's screen went out and everything was silent for a moment.

"Sorry for the wait," a voice broke the silence. It was monotone and robotic, coming from the tablet. "We have now recorded and deciphered your language and wish to speak to you."

The crew froze, staring wide-eyed at the black screen.

Asami was the first to come to. "You can hear us?"

"Yes."

"And you understand us?"

"Yes. Your short conversation was enough for our programs to detect and use your language. This is an automatic translation. We expected you to make contact since you captured one of our machines."

The engineer blinked a few times. That was impressive and not like anything they had back home. Could they really match their language like that? She looked back at Korra. Being the Commander she wondered if she wanted to take over. The Avatar caught on, and she took the tablet from Asami.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We are inhabitants of the planet you have come to. We are working to regain its equilibrium, but it seems like you wish to disturb it."

"We're only responding to your distress signal!"

"The signal was not sent by us. It was sent by the primitive creatures that share this land with us. We appreciate the aid you have, but you must understand we do not need it. We have great stores of it ourselves, on our own planet."

Korra frowned. "It doesn't seem like it."

"Your knowledge of our planet is limited."

"So where are these stores?"

There was a pause on the other end. "You do not require this information. However, we ask that you help us restore equilibrium to our planet since your systems are already malfunctioning and are unable to leave."

"What do you mean by equilibrium?"

"You must have seen our planet looks deserted. It should not be like this. The planet has potential, but the primitive creatures are resistant to our technological advancements. We only wish to see their planet thrive, and them also."

"Yeah well, you burnt their things."

"There is no place for outdated tools. We have provided them with technology. They simply do not wish to use it."

"Well it's a strange way to convince them. They seem terrified of you!"

"I ask you meet with us. We would desire your help and in exchange, our team will help you with your reactor. We will arrange transport for you, should you accept."

Korra looked back at the others. She was ready to decline, after everything they'd seen the robots do, but Kuvira was nodding her head. "You have to hear them out," she whispered.

The Avatar sighed. "Fine."

"Wonderful. Once you see our mission, you will be glad to have accepted." The voice seemed to have disconnected, and the room went silent.

The crew shifted uncomfortably, except for Kuvira, who logged herself out of her control panel and grabbed a food packet off the side, gnawing on the dry cereal bar.

"What should we do with the robot? Do you think they want him back?" Bolin asked.

"I doubt it. He's pretty beat up." Korra took the chunk of clay out of his mouth now that he was powered down.

"I'd like to take him back to my workshop. Maybe I'll find out more about how they work. Would you help me carry him?" Asami turned towards Korra.

The Commander smiled, straightening her shoulders. "Of course. It's no problem, I can do it myself."

The engineer was about to protest, but it was too late as the Avatar was already attempting to lift the metal body up. It was heavier than she remembered, now that she wasn't coursing with adrenaline on a cliff's edge, and she wobbled a little as she carried him out of the cockpit.

As the door closed behind them, Asami stopped her and grabbed the legs of the robot to help her. "They can't see you now. You don't have to show off anymore," she said.

"Right," Korra huffed. "Thanks." It was totally them she was trying to impress.

They carried the robot down the corridors and into the handyman corner, laying him down on the workbench. Even without his arms, his body still weighed a lot. The tungsten alloy he was made from was dense but almost impenetrable.

"Thank you," the engineer said.

"It's alright." She stood silent for a moment as Asami inspected the bodywork. She took a few seconds to catch her breath. "So what do you think?" she asked. "About the message?"

Asami turned towards the Commander. Leaning back on the workbench, she crossed her arms. "Something's not right."

Korra chuckled. "Yeah, you're telling me. They tried to kill me and now suddenly they're open for peace talks."

"How did they know our systems are malfunctioning?" Asami stared into space as she thought, seemingly not listening to what Korra said. "They've never been here. They might have seen us crash but that could mean anything. And how did they specifically know that our fusion reactor was bust?" She shook her head. "They couldn't have even known if we're a fusion-powered ship!"

The Avatar was trying to follow along. She wasn't sure what Asami was implying though. "You're saying they're monitoring us?"

"No. I'm saying they might have caused this."

Korra frowned. "But how?"

"Everything was fine until we entered the atmosphere. Let me show you something."

Korra followed the engineer down the trap door, back in the innards of the ship. She noticed Asami had fixed some of the pipes while she was gone. They came back to the fusion reactor and Asami grabbed a crowbar and lifted up a slot on the floor, its hinges squeaking terribly as she propped it open.

"It's very tight down here." She grabbed a head torch from the side and fitted it on. She had probably already been down there recently to have it handy.

The Commander watched as she jumped down the hatch and she went to follow. She crouched down through the tight space, just about seeing Asami's torch in front of her. They crawled forward a bit before the engineer stopped, and they sat side by side. Korra realized she was looking at the underside of the fusion reactor.

"See here." Asami pointed to the pipe leading out from the leaded cylinder. "Emergency drain. It takes an hour to power down the fusion reactor, but this will shut it in a few seconds."

Korra struggled to see what Asami was pointing to in the low light, but she understood the gist. "I know about this. Basic ship training. But no one triggered it. And how can we be sure this is what happened?"

"Not even the ship's emergency programming will touch this. It's dangerous to drain so much hot compressed hydrogen at once. I'm surprised the shields held as well as they did, but look here on the pipe." She pointed to the metal alloy. It had turned a mix of blue and indigo. "The internal coating protects these pipes from the heat, but even they have their limits. The heat damaged the metal here."

"So you're sure the hydrogen is gone?"

"Positive."

"I don't suppose we have a spare reactor in the back?"

Even though she wasn't looking, Asami could feel her sheepish smile and she chuckled. "No. But I do know they somehow found a way to order the emergency drain, which can only be done manually."

"I have to put in my passcode."

"Exactly."

There was a lot to process. "They can do that? Just hack the ship like that?"

"I don't know." Asami sighed. "Maybe I'm overthinking it."

"Can we overthink outside? It's very stuffy down here."

"Right, of course."

Asami led the way back and they hopped up onto the floor of the hull. They sprung up a lot of dust, and Korra covered her face as she sneezed. Looking down at her palms, she realized she dirtied herself with black oil from the components down there.

"Dammit," she sighed.

Asami grabbed a cloth that hung out of her overalls pocket. "Stay still a minute." She said, looking amused. She carefully wiped the oil off Korra's face as the Avatar averted her eyes in embarrassment.

"I was gonna make it my new look," she said.

"Please don't."

She smiled. "Why? It always looks good on _you_." Korra gulped. That was very unprofessional of her but she said it without thinking. She held her breath, watching Asami's reaction.

The engineer laughed. "You have to know how to work it." She put the cloth back in her pocket. "All good now."

"Thanks." She tried to stifle her breath of relief.

"We should probably get ready to meet the robots."

"I should tell the others what happened with the reactor too."

"And take what the robots say with a pinch of salt. For now anyway. Until we know better."

Korra nodded, ready to head back up. On the intercom, Mako's voice rang out.

"Korra? Asami? There's a vehicle approaching us. I think we have to go now."


	4. Chapter 4

Korra watched as Asami grabbed a thick glove from the workbench.

"You need gloves out there?"

"Don't worry about it." That was no way to talk to her Commander, but it had technically been against the rules for an engineer to bring a weapon on board, so she rather it remained a secret for as long as possible. She also figured that the electrical glove would fare quite well against the robots if something were to go wrong.

Coming down the corridor they saw everyone else ready to head out, waiting for Korra's orders. They stepped into the buffer room, but before the Commander opened the exit latch, she turned to them.

"Before we go-" she started to say but was interrupted by the noise outside. She frowned and looked out through the window. The robots had driven right up to the ship and two of them had walked over to knock on their door. "What on earth...?"

"Oh no do you think they're going to kill us?" Bolin asked.

"No they're just impatient. What are we waiting for?" Kuvira said.

The robot knocked again, this time louder, and Korra sighed. "Fine." She opened the door. "Can you give us two minutes?"

The machine spoke in a monotone voice. "You are wanted now. Please join us in the vehicle."

She glanced over at the others and everyone looked back at her questioningly. She supposed the announcement could wait until after they spoke to the robot leaders. "Alright."

They headed down to the truck and took their seats in the back trailer, sitting against the edges and looking out at the desolate terrain as the robots drove away. Korra wondered if she made a mistake to wait on that briefing, seeing as a robot was riding with them in the trailer rather than back in the truck. She cast a glance over at Asami and the engineer looked to have the same suspicion. The robots seemed to be making sure the crew wasn't sharing information, which begged the question of whether they knew that Korra and Asami found something the others didn't.

* * *

They drove for about an hour. The truck was speeding greatly across the flat land until they could finally see where they were headed. On the horizon, they spotted gleaming metallic domes surrounded by robot patrols and a large, central building around which they parked their trucks. Groups of robot workers were unloading equipment out of the warehouse and packing them onto the vehicles, before driving off into the distance. Their line of sight didn't reach far enough to see where they were going, and their staring was cut short by their trailer coming to an abrupt stop.

"We are here. Please follow us," the robot said as it hopped off.

The crew followed the machines into one of the domes. The doors were guarded by a couple of robots, letting them in without questions. Inside, the dome was lit with a dull red artificial light and the air felt unbelievably humid. It was difficult to see clearly, but there was a strange smell in the room.

"What are those?" Bolin whispered, leaning towards the crew and pointing discreetly at an array of flora spread across the walls of the dome. The climbing plants bore orange, speckled fruit that dripped with a slimy green ooze. Perhaps they were the source of the smell.

"I am glad you have made it."

Their attention was pulled away from the stinky fruit to the three creatures standing in front of them. They were the same height as them, with grey skin and bat-like faces. Their bodies were unnatural, with their arms and legs seeming metallic like those of their robots and their torsos covered up with thick chest plates. The first one stepped forward to speak to them. Its voice was ever so slightly audible as a series of harsh, guttural sounds, but it was mainly covered up by the voiceover coming from the device around its neck, translating its words as it spoke.

"Thank you for choosing to meet with us." It gestured over to the table they had set up in the center of the dome. "Please come and take a seat."

The crew walked over with the three creatures and sat down with them.

"I would like to show you what our planet could look like, with our technological advancements." It ran its glossy hand across the table and a hologram lit up of the planet. It was able to zoom in onto its surface, showing large structures built across the even terrain, and large bustling cities with incoming merchant ships. "We would be a trading hub for the whole galaxy," it said. "There are many resources hidden away on our planet. With the right infrastructure, we would build a great civilization, and help the rest of the galaxy too. There is enough here for everyone, I assure you." It manipulated the hologram in all directions to show the crew everything it was talking about, from affluent quarters to traders coming in to sell their goods. "Our people would be well off, not suffering in a dry desert as they are now."

"What makes you so sure that your planet has all these resources you're talking about?" Korra asked. She wondered how the creature will understand her, but they had their own earpieces which they used for translation.

"If you accept to help us you may see for yourself in due time."

"And you're saying you need our help for what?"

The bat faced being seemed to smile. "Our primitive kin do not wish for us to do this. They are afraid of technology. Of civilization. We have always been peaceful and have never turned our forces against them, but our patience is wearing thin. If we don't do something about our planet's state, if we don't bring all of its potential to the surface, then I am afraid both of our kinds will soon perish."

"Why don't you go ahead without them? Why are they such an obstacle for you?" Kuvira asked.

"The planet's secrets go deeper than you think. Drilling through the core has been difficult and would take many more years, but our primitive kin hold the key to what we need. They're biologically connected to the planet's core, and it is the ooze their hands secrete that open it up enough for it to be mined."

"The compounds in their hands can change the planet's physical structure?" Asami was looking skeptical about this.

"It may be different from what you know back on your own planet, but you must remember you are far from your world out here."

"But why would we force them to do something against their will?" Korra said.

"You cannot even if you try. We have of course tried to replicate their natural mucus, but our attempts have been in vain. It has never worked unless they themselves intend to do it. We do not fully understand the mechanism at play. Either way, until their kind agrees, we still need your help here with us. We have a large team of robots, and we are constantly making more. They need order if we are to make any progress in drilling through the core."

"You're looking for captains?"

"There are many operations running at once. The more we can do, the better it will be for our planet."

There was a moment of silence as the crew was taking everything in. They looked at each other, trying to see what the others were thinking.

"Listen," Korra began, "we can't really know what right or wrong, we just got here and-"

"Where do you need us posted?" Kuvira interrupted her.

The creature looked pleased. "Your role with us can rotate as you please. You may help us up here to regulate extending our base or monitor our drilling underground. As members of the human species, we suspect you do not fare well underground for long, so we are happy to accommodate a range of roles for you." It sat back to watch their reactions, its bright yellow eyes scanning the crew. It seemed pleased with itself to have let them know how considerate they were being.

"That sounds like a good plan."

"Kuvira you're not seriously considering this," Korra said.

The Lieutenant turned towards her, brows furrowed. "What do you mean? They're revitalizing a planet, of course I'm considering this. Have you seen what things look like outside?"

Korra gulped, eyeing the creatures. They were staring at her intently, anticipating her response. "How can you be so sure?" she said calmly, trying to diffuse the tension.

"If what they're saying is true, then it would change the lives of these people for the better." She pointed towards the hologram. "Look at this. Who wouldn't want this?"

The Commander took a deep breath, scowling at Kuvira, but she wasn't stopping.

"Plus, if we help them, they help us. That was the deal. And without help, we're never getting off this planet," she finished.

"She does make a good point," Bolin whispered.

"I am sorry to cut your conversation short," the creature said, "but we are very busy around here. If you do not all want to remain we cannot force you. We are a society of peace, and those who are against us are welcome to leave."

Korra looked into Kuvira's eyes one last time. "Lieutenant, we have to talk through this. You're coming back with us and that's an order."

Kuvira scoffed. "You think you're such a great leader. This is our only way out, _Commander_ , and look who's willing to take it."

"Are you disobeying orders?"

"If I may," the creature interrupted again, "this is no place for arguing. Please, as a species with free will, make your choices now."

Without another word, Korra stood up and walked out, refusing to look behind her.

"We will welcome you again if you change your mind," the creature said as she left.

Once out of the dome, she saw Asami, Bolin, and Mako had followed her, but no sign of Kuvira. She sighed but carried on walking.

"Take us back," she said to the robot driving the truck.

* * *

The ride back home was silent and awkward. Bolin had looked up at everyone and tried to say something but stopped himself before he could start. They all looked gloomy.

They hopped off the trailer as the robot pulled up by their ship. Korra didn't say anything and just headed straight in. Asami rushed after her, and Mako traipsed along behind. Bolin stopped to thank the driver, before dashing off after his brother. He wasn't sure if the robots had feelings, but he smiled at him just in case.

"Korra, are you alright?" Asami asked as they waited for the buffer room to let them back in.

"I should have told her not to trust them," she said, walking into the ship as soon as the door opened.

"You didn't have the chance. She made a rash decision anyway."

The Avatar headed straight for her quarters. It was getting late and her head had started to throb again, so she waltzed in and sat down on her bed, taking her boots off with a sigh.

Asami had nearly followed her in, before remembering it was against the rules for crew members to visit each other's rooms, so she stood in the doorway, still looking for something to say to make Korra feel better.

Their rooms were all pretty much the same - a bed, a desk, and every belonging was safely locked away in a secure chest. There was nothing left out, lest it went flying during landing or takeoff. Despite being the Commander, Korra didn't get anything different than the rest of them.

"Are you still sore?" the engineer asked.

"A little." She rubbed her face and took a deep breath. She was coursing with anger at Kuvira, but every time she thought about it, her head stung even more.

"I'll get you some tea if you want."

Korra looked up wearily and nodded. "Yes please," she said.

Asami slipped away and the Commander was left alone with her thoughts. There was no telling how they'd get Kuvira back now without angering the robots, and after seeing the sheer size of their numbers she was certain they couldn't take them on. And she couldn't get over how _stupid_ she had been to just trust those creatures like that. Perhaps she knew more than the Lieutenant, but even so.

She took off her jacket and threw it over the chair. She stared at the commanding badge on her lapel. The golden metal was dirty from the sand and dust outside, just as beat up as the Commander herself.

Her undershirt stuck to her from the sweat and she was dying to have a shower when Asami came back holding a hot cup of tea.

"Careful," she said, coming up to the door again. "It's hot."

Korra walked over and took it from her. "Thank you." She smelled the aromatic herbs and tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. She looked up at the engineer, standing awkwardly as though she would catch fire if her foot overstepped the threshold. Rules were stupid anyway. "Do you want to come in a minute?" she asked. She sat back down on her bed, her hip protesting but she ignored it.

Asami walked in cautiously, and spun the chair round so she could face Korra. She sat down and clasped her hands. "We still don't know the full truth."

"I gave her an order and she ignored it." She took a sip of the hot tea. It was nice and soothing. "I knew she never saw me as a good leader, but..." she didn't know how to carry on, and it was probably not fair for her to look to Asami for comfort anyway. The professional thing to do was to be talking about where to go from here. "Anyway, not that it matters. Do you have any ideas? What we can do?"

"It does matter," she replied, seemingly ignoring her question. "Spacial Aeronautics Handbook, section 42 - crew morale is a resource as important as provisions."

"No way you can quote the handbook."

"Didn't we all study it?"

"I just looked at the pictures."

Asami chuckled and Korra had started to smile too. She didn't want to admit it, but hearing the engineer laugh was a better remedy than the herbal tea.

"But seriously, what Kuvira chose to do doesn't say anything about you, Korra. It was her choice to trust the robots, and her choice to go against your orders. None of that was your fault."

The Commander looked down into her cup, swirling the leafy sediment around at the bottom. "Do you think they're even doing the right thing? They can't be, right?"

"All things considered, I don't think so. If they really did hack our ship then they either wanted us to stay or... maybe not even make it in the first place."

"But I mean with the planet. They were right - it really is a lifeless desert. Are the Kytherans even happy like this?"

The engineer thought for a moment. "I can't say for sure. We don't know anything about the planet really. And," she furrowed her brows, staring at the floor as she formulated her next thought, "I had a very weird feeling about them."

"Yeah, they're like cyborgs. Why?"

"Sure and that but-" she was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps down the hall. Without thinking, she panicked and rushed out of Korra's room, afraid that Mako or Bolin would see her breaking regulations. Sure enough, she spotted Mako making his way up to his own dorm.

"Officer," he greeted.

Asami nodded her head, "Seargent."

He headed into his room and closed the door. He seemed pretty tired himself and not in the mood for conversation.

She turned back towards Korra.

"Don't worry about him," the Commander said. "He's always grumpy." She felt herself drifting off too, now that she finished her tea. She really needed to take a shower before bed, though. "I should probably go clean up." She scoffed. "It's so damn hot all the time."

"Right. I'll leave you to it then," Asami said.

"Oh, wait! What did you want to say?"

The engineer looked at how tired the Commander was and decided it was best left for another time. "We can talk more in the morning."

"Alright." The buzzing in her ear was still irritating her so she pulled her earpiece out. "Hey, I know we're all tired so you don't have to look at it now, but do you know why this thing keeps buzzing all the time? It stopped working a while ago."

Asami frowned and took the earpiece from Korra, looking at it as though the problem would be written onto it. "I'll see what's wrong, sure."

"Thank you."

"Get some rest, Korra." She smiled and headed down to her own room.


	5. Chapter 5

"Korra?"

She could barely hear him shouting over the sound of the alarm. It blared so loud, it was like she could feel it thumping against her chest.

"Korra!" Mako yelled again.

The Commander looked desperately around her, confused and panicked. She tried to stand, but she was strapped into her chair by the seatbelt. Her eyes darted around the cockpit. The walls were shaking and the windscreen was rattling. In front of them, Kythera was approaching quickly.

"Korra! What do we do?!" The Seargent screamed.

The Avatar was struggling to focus on what was happening. She looked over to the pilot's seat, but there was no one there. The ship was spiraling out of control.

She glanced down at her own controls. The panels were glitching and all the writing was an indecipherable mess of symbols that she couldn't read. She fumbled with her seatbelt buckle and pried herself from the chair, fighting to run against the ship's jerks.

"Korra!" The brothers yelled after her as she ran out, and in a blink, she found herself down in the hull of the ship, pipes bursting and hot steam burning her face. In the chaos, she struggled to find Asami, her vision inexplicably blurry as she forced herself to walk.

She saw the fusion reactor, cracks forming on its surface.

"Asami?!" she called out, but there was no response.

The cracks in the lead widened and widened, light pouring out of them. The reactor contorted as pressurized hydrogen stood ready to explode.

* * *

She woke up in a cold sweat, panting, and clinging to the blanket. Everything was silent and there was no explosion.

"Shit..." she let out a long breath, calming herself down. Hopefully, she hadn't woken anyone else up.

Judging by the light levels, it was barely early morning. The ship's ambient lighting was programmed to follow their circadian rhythms and imitated the day-night cycle. She didn't feel like going back to sleep though, so she threw the blanket aside and sat on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the floor for a moment.

She wished she was back home already, wanting to get up in the morning and go for a run, birds singing, wind in her hair. There were always new missions, more work to do, but she'd always get at least a couple days off in between them. Her thoughts drifted to her training years as a young space cadet, skiving Tenzin's lectures with Mako and Bolin. They were an odd group, each one different from the next, and there were times they didn't get along, but they always stuck together. Then they met Kuvira in their final year of training. She was an ambitious student, but full of herself. It was strange how they ended up becoming friends - and strange friends they were, always at each other's throats and always at each other's backs no matter what.

But that seemed like a lifetime ago. They were adults now, and adults often diverge from their younger selves. Perhaps Kuvira had always been a ticking time bomb.

Now they were stuck on an unfamiliar planet in the midst of a disagreement between species, and it was Korra's duty to look after her crew and bring them back safely. As much as she despised what she had done, Kuvira was still the pilot of the SS Raava.

"Fuck's sake," she whispered, rubbing her face with her hands. All of her sweat had dried and her skin felt unpleasant. She decided it was time for another shower.

She grabbed her towel and her shower gel, before slipping out of her room quietly. It was too early for anyone else to be awake yet so she snuck down the hall to the shower room. She pushed the door open, shocked to hear the sound of running water already. She looked down the stalls, realizing someone was in one of them.

"Mako if you're the one using all the hot water in the mornings I swear I'll slap you," she said with a chuckle, taking her clothes off and leaving them on the side. The fire bender was always the first one up, but she hadn't expected him to be here quite this early.

"I'll be quick, don't worry."

Korra froze at hearing Asami's voice. "Oh sorry," she stumbled. "It's usually Mako that's so early."

She headed into a stall herself and suddenly she felt self-conscious. There was no way for them to see each other through the opaque glass but the notion that Asami was showering next to her was a strange one for the Avatar. Her brain hadn't fully woken up yet perhaps. Asami was no different than the other crew members.

"Well seems you're very early too," the engineer said.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep too well." She lathered up, feeling the lavender smell from the shower gel.

"It's a tough time."

"How about you?"

"I stayed up to get some work down on the robot and before I knew it, it was morning. Happens sometimes." There was a pause as Asami turned her water off and stepped out, wrapping herself in her towel. "I also found the issue with your earpiece."

"That's great!" Korra rinsed herself, nearly done, but stopped herself before switching the water off. Asami was still out there. She couldn't go out now.

"Not really," she replied, "something strange happened to it actually."

"Oh, well that's... that's bad." She mumbled. As much as she wanted to know what was wrong, she really wanted Asami to leave. Crew members crossed paths in the showers all the time but she just could not do that with the engineer.

"Yeah, I opened it up right after you gave it to me and checked the receiver. I thought maybe its bandwidth needed calibrating and it was picking up noise from the environment, but no."

"That's... that's interesting."

"I found the receiver was off completely. As much as you couldn't connect to us we couldn't have connected to you either."

"Uh-huh."

"But what was strange was that the transmitter was set to a different frequency. The reason you couldn't get through to us is our ship doesn't use that many hertz. If this was the only component gone wrong then maybe it would be understandable - I don't know, some magnetic fluctuation mingling with the electronics - but mix this in with the broken receiver and well something's not right."

Korra couldn't just stand there and use up all the hot water. She went ahead and turned the shower off and built up her courage to crack open the door. She peeked out discreetly. Asami wasn't even paying attention and was instead rummaging through the pockets of her trousers that she'd folded up on the side. Korra took this opportunity to slide out and walk over to her own pile of clothes.

"I hope you don't mind but," she found the earpiece in her pocket, "I've actually completely destroyed it." She held the broken device in her hand and turned towards Korra.

The Avatar's breath hitched, having only been able to slide her sweatpants on and standing topless in front of Asami. She looked down at the earpiece in her hand, trying hard not to look at the engineer. This morning was proving increasingly difficult for the Commander.

She took the device. It was crushed.

"I have my theories about it," she carried on, not even worried about their clothing situation. "I don't have a way to be sure but it's somewhat possible that the frequency it was set to was tuned for the robots to receive."

Korra hurried and threw her tshirt on. "You mean?"

"I don't see your earpiece malfunctioning like that by chance. It's not far-fetched to think they could have been listening to you."

"The robot riding with us," Korra furrowed her brows. "And rushing us out of the ship. And rushing us to make a decision in their base. It was all because they knew you figured out what they did, and they heard you say it."

Asami nodded. "It would seem so." She grabbed her clothes and walked out, Korra following close behind.

"It all started when I fought those robots, do you think they could have done that?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't be sure how though, so until we find more out I think we should ditch the earpieces."

They paused in front of Asami's room.

"How do we know if they're listening in any other way? The ship's full of devices," Korra said.

"I did have an idea, but it's not ideal."

"We could do with anything right now."

She sighed. "We turn off all of the ship's communication devices. Simply unwire all of them. That would mean no transmissions going out, but also no transmissions coming in."

"But our SOS message to Iroh. We won't get a reply and he won't be able to find us without our signal."

"It may be the only way, but it's your call to make."

Korra's headache felt like it was coming back as she said that. "Well I..." she mumbled.

"Don't stress over it." Asami placed a hand on Korra's arm. "We'll talk over breakfast with everyone else too."

She held back a breath of relief. "Ok."

The engineer smiled and headed into her room.

* * *

Despite being up so early, Korra was the last one to show in the common room. The others were already sitting at the table, gnawing on compressed cereal bars in silence. She grabbed her share from the cupboard and sat down with them.

"Hi, Korra!" Bolin said, stuffing the last of his breakfast in his mouth and scrunching the wrapper up.

"Morning everyone," she said.

"You feeling alright for us to start?" Asami asked and the Commander nodded. The cereal bar tasted like bananas.

Asami went ahead and told Mako and Bolin about her understanding of what happened during their crash, explaining how she believed the fusion reactor was drained in such a short time.

"It would explain why the shields took such a beating," Mako said.

"And that brings us to Korra's earpiece. Something they may well have also hacked, and listened in on, which is why the proposal is to shut off the ship's transmissions. We'd effectively be isolating ourselves."

They fell silent for a few moments as they all thought of the implications. They were all hoping Iroh would come for them, but now there was no chance of that.

"Sounds like the only way," Mako said.

"But what if the robots aren't doing that?" Bolin asked. "What if it's not their fault the thing broke? They said they're peaceful."

"You can't believe everything they tell you." His brother rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying I don't see why they would lie. There's only five of us, or were five of us. We're not even a threat to them."

They looked at Korra to see if she had anything to say.

"If they're so peaceful why did they try to attack me? I say we can't trust them."

"That's a good point. See, Bolin?"

He mumbled something under his breath as he fiddled with the wrapper.

"Why don't we have a vote?" Asami asked. "Raise your hand if you're in favor of shutting off communications."

They all raised their hands except for Bolin.

"Well that settles it," the engineer went on. "Sorry, Bolin." He shrugged it off. "The next thing I wanted to talk about is more of a speculation of mine."

"Everything's speculation right now. We barely know anything about this place." Mako took everyone's wrappers, much to Bolin's disapproval, and stuffed them in the bin.

"True. But the robot leaders said the Kytherans are their kin and something doesn't seem right about it. The Kytherans are adapted for this - like the contorted ears so no sand gets in, the eyelids that smear their eyes to clean them of dust, the dry skin, and even how they built their city is just so complimentary with the way the planet is. But the other creatures are just such an odd species for this."

"They seem to be living just fine though," Bolin said.

"Yes, but how? Their domes are humid. Why? If they evolved in arid climates why would they opt for that? Their skin is shiny and smooth, a dead giveaway that it would just not be suited for hot deserts. And did you notice the plants they grew? Besides liking the humid air, they were climbing plants. Where on a flatland would you find climbing plants? They're either not native to Kythera or there are regions of it that we haven't seen yet, but my guess is they feed on their fruit."

Korra was amazed that she would notice all of that. All those things would have gone right over her head if she wouldn't have mentioned them.

"And of course there was the fact they wanted to extend their base. Why was their existing base so small? For a species so advanced to make robots and mechanical limbs for themselves, surely they would have been here long enough to build something better. And why were there only three of them, as far as we saw?"

"You're saying they've invaded the planet," Mako said.

"Possibly. It's hard to tell how long they've been here, but I can't see them being native to Kythera."

"Could it be that they lied about what they wanted to do with the planet too?" Bolin asked. The dawning realization that the robots might not be as nice as he thought was slowly creeping in. "That they don't want to develop it, or make life better for the Kytherans? That maybe they just want to take the resources and go."

"Another possibility."

"And they can't kill them because they're the key to the so-called core they were on about," Mako said. "Do you think they really mean the center of the planet?"

"It would be very strange. I'm dying to know what makes this planet's geology so different from others but our scanners just aren't good enough for that."

"I saw a ravine the other day," Korra said. "It was pretty deep." She frowned, just now remembering it. She had been too preoccupied with the robots and she had forgotten all about it. "I looked down and the ground there was different and there were these tree things. It may be worth having a better look but I was kinda dealing with murderous robots at the time."

Asami's face lit up. "That's great! We should go take a look as soon as we can."

"That's the plan then," Korra said, somewhat relieved that their mission for today was sorted.

"Let me just deal with the ship's transmissions and I'll be ready."

* * *

Korra had insisted the crew grab a grappling hook as well - "just in case" she had said. She planned to airbend their way down, but without her they would be stuck down there. There was no use being so dependent on one crew member.

Coming up to the edge of the cliff she looked around them cautiously. The last thing they wanted was another robot ambush, but since the creatures had seemed to call a truce when they had met, maybe they were safe for now. That and also without their earpieces they had no way of tracking them anymore.

"Look down there," Korra said.

The crew leaned over and stared at the navy soil below.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Asami said. "Let's go!"

The Avatar smiled at seeing her so excited so she pulled all of them in close and focused, bending the air around them so they descended safely downwards. The way to the bottom was longer than she had anticipated, but they landed fine. The soil here, as well as being a different color, felt softer.

Asami reached down and scooped up a handful, studying it with her fingers. "It's still dry," she said, before looking up at the small trees that sprouted. "There must be water deeper down. She reached out and touched one of the branches. The bark was lumpy like there were marbles underneath the surface. She grabbed a twig and snapped it off, spinning it round to study the inside only to find it had dried and turned black as soon as it came off. She poked at the darkened scar tissue, but it was rock hard already. "That's strange. Mako, can you give me the knife you had?"

The firebender reached into his rucksack and unsheathed the dagger, handing it to Asami.

"Thanks."

"Are trees the most interesting things down here?" Bolin asked, impatient to go looking for something else.

"Hold on a moment." She dug the knife into the bark, trying to pop one of the marble things. She expected sap to flow out, but as soon as she pierced the bark the inside hardened. The tree was impossible to harvest.

Realizing that was a waste of time, she handed the dagger back to Mako and followed the others as they traipsed further along. The strange flora was few and far between, but still a stark contrast with the desert above them. The few shrubs that grew were dry and spiky and didn't seem like they would serve much of a purpose to the Kytherans, unless their bright red color could be turned into a dye.

"Look there," Mako said, pointing to a couple of large cracks in the side of the cliff. "Could that be something?"

The cracks were wide enough to be noticeable but not wide enough for them to see through. They reached up from the ground to a few feet above them.

"Should we try to pry them open?" Korra asked.

"Maybe, but be careful," Asami said.

Korra had taken the lead and assumed a wide stance, grunting as she tried to pull the clay apart. The crack widened a few inches, but no more.

"Bolin, help me out."

The two of them worked together, breathing hard as they struggled to shift the ground apart. Eventually, after one last heave, the gap became wide enough to just about slip through.

They took a peek inside, expecting to see nothing but the darkness of a cave of some sort, but instead saw a faint blue light.

"Is that... light?" Bolin squinted.

"It would seem so." Korra headed in first, squeezing through the gap and watching her step.

The others followed closely behind, following the faint light. As they headed further in, they realized they could no longer feel the walls against them, and the cavity had opened up more and more. The blue that radiated through the darkness was more obvious now.

Korra had stopped, trying to take it all in and everyone else crashed into her, not paying attention.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" Bolin whispered.

"What is this place?" Mako asked.

"What are _those?"_ Korra stared at the source of the blue light. They were shrubs with large bell-like flowers that glowed brightly, lighting up the rest of the cave. The cavity was larger than they first thought, stretching further and further the more they looked, and in every direction there were more glowing bells, springing up from the floor.

Asami walked over and bent down over one of the flowers, cautious to touch it but trying to see the source of the light. As soon as she tried picking the flower up to have a look, its light went out as soon as it felt her. The engineer flinched and pulled back her hand.

"That's strange," she said but left the flowers as they were. The last thing they wanted was to lose their source of light.

"Guys?" Bolin had walked a little further ahead than the rest of them. "Are you seeing this?"

They turned their attention towards him and walked up to see what he was talking about. They held their breath, looking down at the ground in front of them. The pit was so deep they couldn't see the bottom, but on the side was a clay cart held up by red fibers. The arrangement was such that the cart could be lowered down with the makeshift ropes. They stumbled across a mining site.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do you think the Kytherans built this?" Korra asked.

They stared down into the pit. The edges were jagged, most probably manually dug, but the light from the bell-flowers didn't reach very far down.

"It would seem so," Asami said. "It's primitive yet impressive." She walked over to the makeshift elevator, daring to touch the ropes and tug on them slightly. They were stiffer than they looked. She wondered how they made them so sturdy, being only made of plant fibers. Looking out across the other end of the pit she noticed a similar arrangement of ropes, but no elevator. One was up here at the surface and one must have already been down there. It was hard to tell whether that meant there were people already down, or whether this was the arrangement that they were always left in.

"Is it functional?" Mako said as the rest of the crew walked up.

"It would seem so." The engineer followed the rope to the wheel inside the clay cart. Rotating it by the lever would control its height.

They stood in silence for a moment, each one of them too afraid to suggest what they were all thinking.

"You guys want to go down, don't you?" Bolin said. He took another look down into the abyss, a shiver running down his spine.

"It would be a shame not to," Korra said, "after we've come all this way. Right guys?"

They all nodded slightly. They were all curious but who knows what was down there. The primitive elevator was as enticing as much as it looked unsafe.

The Commander tested it with her foot, resting a bit of weight on it to see if it held. The cart didn't budge. It was sturdily held in place by the rope and the makeshift break on the wheel around which it was wrapped. Seeing that no danger was imminent, she stepped into it fully before the others followed her one by one. Even with all four of them in, the elevator still refused to budge. It didn't as much as shake.

"Someone hold onto the lever as we take the brake off," Asami said, grabbing the branch that had been jammed into the wheel to stop it from unraveling the rope and letting the cart fall. Korra grabbed the wheel's lever and nodded before the engineer tugged on the branch. It came loose and the Avatar grunted as she worked to slowly rotate the wheel, letting the cart descend slowly.

The mechanism was slightly stiff, but it wasn't too difficult to control the speed of the wheel. Across them, the opposite elevator was coming up as they were going down. The two were cleverly connected.

As they headed further into the pit it became increasingly difficult to see. Mako held a bundle of flames in his hand so they could just about see each other, but the world around them was pitch black. They didn't realize they had reached the bottom until the cart came to an abrupt stop with a muffled thud.

"Guess we're here," Korra said, taking a deep breath and resting her arms.

The crew stepped out carefully, both firebenders holding out makeshift torches, but with limited effectiveness. They trod cautiously on the ground outside the elevator, eyes wide realizing it reflected some of the flames' faint light.

"It's wet," Asami whispered. "There's water here."

They took a few moments, sliding their feet around the shallow puddles. The water dirtied their boots navy blue like the soil dissolved into it.

Their realization was cut short by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"W-what's that?" Bolin said. He stood closer to Mako.

They listened out one more time. The footsteps were slow and they struggled to tell whether they were getting closer as they echoed off the walls.

The crew stood back to back, watching the darkness. Asami slid her electric glove on.

Long, heavy breathing now accompanied the stepping. Whatever it was, it grunted with each step, shifting an immense amount of weight as it moved.

None of them dared make a noise, afraid that the creature would be drawn to them, but it was too late. Even in the weak light, they saw the monster that had been stalking them. It stopped as the crew spotted it.

The beast was enormous and incredibly heavy, loose flesh weighing its body down as it stood on six thick legs, its salamander-like body moving slowly inwards and outwards as it took deep breaths. The sides of its face were lined with white, glistening eyes, and its large jaws drooped with slimy, clear saliva.

"Does... Does it see us?" Bolin whispered.

The beast turned its head to the side, its many eyes meeting the crew. It let out a bloodcurdling screech.

"Yes! That means yes!" He said as the crew huddled closer together, backing up until their heels hit the elevator. With nowhere else to go, they gulped as the beast shifted its weight closer. Coming more and more into the light, they took in the creature's features, frozen in panic. Its skin was red, and its feet were lined with long, flat claws. There was something large on its back.

A series of yelps called out from the darkness and the monster stopped dead in its tracks. It turned its massive head towards the bundle of blue light coming into view and without another sound, laid down flat on its belly. The crew noticed the crates strapped to its back.

The Kytheran approached the beast, in their hand a lantern stuffed with the bell-flowers, concentrated enough that it became a powerful source of light. They rubbed the creature's face and hung the lantern around the horns on its forehead. They unloaded one of the crates and hauled it towards the elevator. Seeing Korra's crew petrified against the cart made them stop and let out a series of noises. As the crew didn't respond, they went ahead with their business, loading the crate into the elevator.

"Er, hi?" Korra muttered. They were slowly regaining their senses, letting out deep breaths of relief. They weren't going to die after all.

The Kytheran looked back towards them and held their palm up. The crew did the same, which seemed to please the miner. They motioned for the space fleet to follow them, grabbing the lantern back from the creature.

They followed, looking behind them anxiously as the beast lugged itself with them. The lantern was powerful enough that they were able to see the tunnel fully, the walls glistening with traces of water. Before long they rounded a corner, eyes wide at the scene before them.

"Woah..." they muttered.

It would have been wrong to call it a cave system anymore. The opening was large enough that it was impossible to see its edges and the scenery was stunning. Bright, bell-flowers lit up the terrain, their light illuminating the flora that grew so abundantly here. Tall, majestic trees sprouted high into the air, their branches reaching so far up they couldn't see their end. Red shrubbery littered the floor, and tiny creatures wove in and out of their thorns, afraid of the newcomers, some running and disappearing under the surface of the massive lake, lost against the foam of the towering waterfall. The crew followed the flow of the water up into the hardened rocks. Though the source was hidden, the oasis it birthed formed an array of plants with beautiful, colorful flowers at its edge, drooping over the surface of the glistening water.

"This... this is beautiful," Asami said.

"Yeah. It is." Korra's eyes followed the flight of one of the butterfly-like creatures that roamed above the lake, their wings reflecting the blue light, making the bugs appear to glow.

Amongst the scenery were numerous other Kytherans, draped with thicker cloths against the cold underground. They waltzed through this near Utopia, stopping to harvest the shrub's fibers and tap the trees.

"These trees," Asami said, "they're the same as the ones on the surface." She studied the bark. It was the same color and texture, and exhibited the same strange marble-like structure beneath the surface. "Except the trees on the surface must be just... the branches of these ones. They reach all the way to the top." The engineer's attention was diverted to the Kytherans tapping into the large trunks. They used their tappers to drain a viscous, navy blue liquid from the plants. "Interesting. The trees don't clot for them." Her brows furrowed, remembering her own attempt on the surface. She walked over to them, trying to ask if she could get a better look at their tools. Though they couldn't understand fully, the Kytherans welcomed her to watch.

Before she could say anything, Korra lost track of the whole crew. Bolin had run off to try to befriend one of the small little lizards that hid under the shrubbery, and Mako had gone off to stop his brother but got distracted by the butterflies that swarmed around him, and he struggled to swat them away. With everyone bust, Korra decided to go sit down by the water's edge, looking down at her reflection. She took her boots off and dipped her feet in. The water was ice cold, but she enjoyed it anyway, throwing her head back and taking a deep breath.

There was a whole world under them the whole time.

She was enjoying the feel of the water so much, she didn't even notice the Kytheran that had come to sit down next to her until they tapped her shoulder. She looked up at them, their black eyes studying the Avatar curiously. They held their hand out, showing her what seemed to be a few gem shards. She furrowed her brows, but the creature insisted that she take them.

"Thank you," she said, studying the scarlet shards. She had no idea what they were.

The Kytheran motioned downwards, towards the ground.

"You mined these?"

There was no response, but Korra noticed the tools strapped around their leather holster. She wasn't sure what some were but one of them was definitely a pickaxe. They must have been mining some of these up.

"What are they?" she asked, although she knew it was pointless.

The Kytheran just wrapped their hand around hers, making her fingers clasp onto the gems. They squeezed her hand for a moment, as though telling her to take care of them, before standing up and walking away, leading the large, six-legged beast away with them.

Korra studied the shards for a moment, but she barely understood anything. Either way, she slipped them into the breast pocket of her jacket.

"Korra!" Bolin called out. "Can me and Mako go look for toads with the Kytherans?"

"What?"

The firebender sighed. "It seems like they're looking for some of these critters and Bolin just wants to help."

Korra chuckled. "Alright fine."

"Yes!" Bolin pumped his fist in the air and hurried after the group of Kytherans heading further along the edge of the lake, his brother following behind half-heartedly.

The Commander slid her boots back on and stood up, dusting her trousers off. She spotted Asami learning how to use the tappers from the Kytherans, as they showed her how to harvest the sap without bothering the tree. She walked over to the engineer, watching as she managed to drain out a few drops of the sap without the bark scarring over and protecting itself. The Kytherans seemed happy and squeaked excitedly.

"It's harder than it looks," she said, seeing Korra approaching. "But the tools are built especially for this. I'm just not that good at using them. They're explaining so many things, but I can't understand most of it."

"So what's the sap for?"

Asami handed the clay bowl back to the Kytherans. They stored the contents in waterskins, hanging them around their waists until they could drop them off at the elevator to take back with them.

"I saw them drink it," she replied. "Probably what their food is. Makes sense since they have no teeth." She wiped the tapper on her overalls and handed it back to them. "I remember seeing the robots burn these," she carried on, "it was tactical. They're trying to starve them so they'd be forced to cooperate."

"That's evil."

"Yeah. Anyway, I think they're going to show me how to harvest bell-flowers for the lanterns. It might be useful to have some for ourselves. Are you coming?"

Korra looked back towards the lake. Bolin was so excited, running around with the young Kytherans after the jumping toads. Even Mako was enjoying himself somewhat.

"Sure."

They started walking away, following the two Kytherans and leaving the lake and waterfalls behind them. The rich, flowering terrain seemed to keep going forever.

"I would never have thought the planet was hollow like this," Asami said, trying to catch sight of everything as they walked, eyes darting from one plant to the next, from one colorful critter to another glowing butterfly. "It's amazing."

Korra watched the fascinated engineer, the blue light radiating off of her skin. "Yeah."

Soon they came to a field full of the bell-flowers, their lights mingling together into one, strong, overpowering source of blue. The Kytherans didn't seem to mind, but Korra and Asami had to shield their eyes as they traipsed through, watching as the creatures bent down next to a group of flowers. They rubbed a thick, black lotion onto their hands before touching the plants, and snipped their flowers off gently with a pair of serrated pliers dipped in the same mixture.

Asami kneeled next to them, and they shared with her the black tar. Something about the compound stopped the plant from defending itself, and she was able to touch it. The pliers too had many serrated teeth, and although the stem of the plant was full of runny, clear liquid, none bled out as they cut the flowers off. They didn't only find a way to keep the flowers glowing, but they also found ways to make sure the plants lived on to make new ones.

Korra watched as they tied a bundle of the flowers together, angling them so their lights would focus together, before placing them inside empty lanterns. It was a peaceful job, almost like gardening. The Kytherans looked after these caves as much as the caves looked after them.

She heard metallic clanking.

She spun round, looking in all directions. The horde was easy to spot in the light. Their bright bodywork reflected the blue perfectly.

"Asami," she said, and the engineer looked up. The marching band was coming closer, and they seemed to spot them in the field. They stared each other down for a few moments. Perhaps the robots were waiting for instructions, but the Kytherans were already backing away, letting out a series of yelps as they retreated further into the flowers.

The robots advanced and Asami slid her electric glove on. Korra wasn't sure whether she was meant to attack. Would initiating break their unspoken truce? As the robots neared, she decided she wasn't going to stand and do nothing either. She stepped forward.

"Stay back," she said. "Stay back or things get ugly." She tried her best to sound imposing.

The machines paused for a moment, as though they awaited instructions again, before ignoring her and breathing fire onto the field of bell-flowers.

"Shit!"

The Kytherans screamed and ran, clutching tightly onto their lanterns and taking panicked, clumsy steps through the plants.

Korra lunged forward, sending a gust of air against the robots, knocking them away. They turned their attention towards the two of them and charged them, exposing saws out of the inside of their forearms. Asami and the Avatar weaved in and out of their fury of strikes, eyes wide at the new weapons.

Ducking under the flail of a robot's arm, the engineer reached round, grabbing onto its bodywork with her glove, the electricity coursing quickly through its system. The robot jerked, the voltage flailing wildly around it before falling to the ground. She looked at Korra, crushing two robots into each other with her airbending.

"Korra!" She yelled out, dodging and shoving another of the machines away from her. "We can chain electricity through them. Round them up!"

The Avatar nodded, not questioning her further. The sheer number of robots was too much for the two of them. She spun round with a kick, sending a gust of wind towards them, knocking them further into each other before slamming her foot down, and raising the ground up as a wall to keep them there for one extra moment.

As fast as she could, Asami kicked the robot she was sparring with towards the others, hoping it would be close enough as she pressed down directly onto its chest. She held it for a second, then jumped back quickly. Before the robots could disperse, the jolt of electricity was strong enough to pierce the air forwards from one to the next.

She didn't get time to be proud of herself. A few of the robots were far enough to have escaped the high voltage and had taken to burning as much of the field as they could before they met their doom. Her eyes widened in horror as one of the Kytherans attempted to stop them, stepping up to the robot and shoving it clumsily, only for the machine to raise up its chainsaw.

"Get away!" Korra roared, breaking a chunk of her own wall and sending it flying towards the machine, crushing it.

The rest of the robots seemed satisfied with their work of the field and took to fleeing. Korra was about to run after them when Asami called out to her.

"Korra! There's water underground!"

She looked at the burning flowers. To hell with the robots. She planted her feet and grunted, managing to lift some of the water from the underground streams and spreading it over the flames. She tried to work quickly, but so much damage had already been done.

The engineer ran up to the Kytheran that had tried to help, taking her glove off and checking to them for injuries. The creature was shaken up and yelped quietly, their eyes tearing up as they looked out at the dead bell-flowers.

"Are you alright?" Asami asked. There a cut across their shoulder where the robot had nipped them with the saw. The wound oozed out a black, viscous tar. Asami tore one of her overalls' pantlegs from the knee down, winding the fabric around the Kytheran's shoulder. She frowned at the sight of their blood, looking from their gash to the lotion on her hands.

"Are they ok?" Korra asked, panting. She had finished putting out the fires.

"Yeah. Just a cut." The engineer tied the fabric securely. The Kytheran stroked her face, leaving a trail of their slimy hands on her cheek, looking at her with sad eyes. "You'll be ok," she said, but that's not what was bothering them.

Few of the bell-flowers remained, but the other Kytheran had already taken to tending to the ones that had a chance of making it.

"Will their flowers grow back?" Korra asked.

"I..." Asami's heart broke as the two creatures knelt by their destroyed garden. "I hope so."

"Fuck," the Commander sighed. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have hesitated to attack." She kicked at the ground. "Fucking robots."

"We had no idea they would do this. Don't beat yourself up. We got them, and look-" she pointed to a small patch of the plants that still lived. "We saved some."

"Your idea was great. With the whole lightning thing. I didn't know that's what that did." She motioned towards the glove hung under Asami's belt.

"My version of bending, if you will."

One of the Kytherans came up to them.

"Can we help in any way?" Korra asked.

The Kytheran ignored her and held out a lantern to them.

"What? No we can't take this," Korra pushed it away. "You barely have any flowers left."

The creature insisted, taking her hand and placing it around the lantern's handle. They said something before going to rejoin its friend and tend to the plants.

"I can't imagine how a species like this can even exist," Asami said. There were tears forming in her eyes. "The more we learn about them the more my heart breaks at what they have to go through." She looked down at her hands, still smudged with the black tar. She had no doubt that the lotion they used to handle the plants was their own blood. "This planet should be nobody's but theirs."

"We'll make it that way." Korra placed a hand on the engineer's shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

Bolin was holding a toad up to his face, a wide smile plastered on his face. The creature had no eyes and was blue with orange polka dots. Although it couldn't see, it could sense the earth bender's face close to it, and licked his chin.

"Bolin, put that thing down," Mako said. "You don't know if it's poisonous."

"Look at him Mako!" He held the toad up to his brother. "He wouldn't hurt a fly! I'm gonna call him Salvador."

"Salvador?"

"Because his cute little cheeks are orange."

"What? That makes no sense."

He looked up, seeing Korra and Asami coming back. They looked worried, and Asami's overalls were ripped. He feared something bad had happened.

"Bolin, they're back." He tugged his brother by his sleeve and pulled him with him.

"Mako, Bolin," Korra said, "there's been a robot horde. We think they may be trying to destroy this place, bit by bit."

The firebender furrowed his brows. "Really? Are you ok?"

"We're fine. A Kytheran was injured but they'll be alright. Problem is they need protection. Everything they need to live is down here and we can't let anything happen, right?" She looked over to Asami.

The engineer nodded. "Their food is the sap in these trees, this is their only source of water, as far as we know and they use the plants for fibers."

"And the toads for medicine!" Bolin said, still holding Salvador.

"Really?"

"Yes! I saw them mixing these guys' drool with some plants. Looked complicated."

Asami was dying to know more, but this wasn't the time.

"I think we need to stand guard round here," Korra said. "I know it sucks, but we'll switch out every so often. We just can't leave this place alone."

Mako nodded. "Me and Bolin will take the first shift."

"Are you sure?"

The firebender looked over at his brother. Bolin was trying hard to pay attention as more colorful butterflies flew by, and Salvador was growing more agitated. "Yeah. This place is nice anyway. Bolin, you stay here while I go grab some supplies from the ship. I'll be back in half an hour."

"Cool cool," he said. "Anything else?"

Korra handed him the lantern. "Use this if you need it. We'll switch guard tonight."

"Ok! See ya!" And with that, the earth bender took off to find some butterflies for Salvador.

"He hasn't stood still since we got here," Mako sighed.

The three of them headed back up, a couple of Kytherans coming with them, since the elevator was already loaded with some supplies. Despite the heavy weight, the ropes held extremely well and they were back at the top with no problems.

The Kytherans lugged their crates in the opposite direction to the way the crew had originally come, so they decided to follow them. Perhaps there was an easier way out to the surface, and they also got to help with the load. It seemed that the creatures had set up a system of pulleys to which they attached the crates, giving the rope a tug before something on the surface pulled their goods up. Once everything was sent up, they headed up through a dugout stairwell, each clay step smoothened and polished. They had been up and down this same way for a long time.

Once back up on the surface, they found themselves just outside their city, squinting against the bright light. The creatures hauling the crates up were none others than the rhino-like beasts and a couple of Kytheran handlers. They loaded their supplies onto the rhinos and headed into the city, looking back at the crew and lifting their palms. It seemed to be their greeting.

"So that's where this goes," Korra said. "Definitely easier than scaling down a canyon."

They walked back to the ship. Without the raging sandstorm, the walk was only around fifteen minutes and the only thing they had to worry about was the blazing heat. Asami was somewhat happy that she tore off one of her pantlegs, and was considering doing the same to the other one. After all, the symmetry was totally off.

"Take anything you need," Korra said to Mako once they were back on board. The firebender rummaged through their stores and stuffed his backpack with snacks. He knew Bolin would get hungry and nervous after he stopped playing with Salvador. Luckily though, there was no need to take any water with him. "And be careful," Korra added.

"Will do. We'll see you guys tonight."

It was a shame they couldn't have their earpieces anymore. If they did, the brothers would be able to call for backup if something happened. Now they just had to hold it out until nightfall.

As Mako left, Korra suddenly remembered the gems. Asami was already heading off to have another look at the captured robot.

"Wait a minute," the Avatar said. She pulled out the gems from her breast pocket. "A Kytheran gave me these." She handed them to the engineer.

Asami studies the odd stones for a moment, leaning them in and out of the light. They reflected a deep red. "Strange. Where are these from?"

"I think they mined them."

She didn't remember seeing any ore veins while they were down there. The notion that the Kytherans had dug further into the ground both intrigued and worried her. It did confirm what the bat-faced creatures said - there truly may have been something important further underground. "I'll have a look and see if I can find a use for these."

"Ok." Korra looked as though she would have wanted to say something more, but stopped herself.

They looked at each other for a moment, an awkward exchange of glances. The engineer smiled before heading off to the cockpit, needing to access the ship's system to work on the robot's hard drive. Perhaps in the meantime, she would find something to do with the gems.

Once again, the Commander felt like everyone had been given a job except her. She wondered whether she would ever even get them out of here. With a sigh she pushed a few strands of hair out of the face and headed to her room. Her thoughts were racing and she felt her headache coming back.

* * *

Asami sat down in Mako's seat, hard disk in one hand and mysterious gems in the other. She put the stones on the side for now, plugging in the robot's disk. Without a doubt, the ship couldn't read it because the encryption used numbers the system couldn't decipher. She was ready to disregard that thought as fast as it came. Any number system, regardless of civilization, had the same principles. Their algorithm had decrypted hard drives from all across the galaxy. What made this one different?

She inspected the component. It was covered in inscriptions, all of which were the odd symbols that must have represented their numbers, each different from the next with no logical pattern. She started making a note of each one. The key to whatever was on that hard disk was in that number system.

No amount of trying to understand the symbols was working. Frustrated with herself, she sighed and picked up one of the gems. She played with it between her fingers, admiring its lovely color. She considered the possibility that there may not be anything special about them at all, and the Kytherans simply saw them as valuable. Come to think of it, had she seen any currency? She frowned. No, she hadn't. That was strange. How were the merchants back in the plaza trading?

Deep in thought, she didn't realize she lowered her hand down against the control panel. Her daydreams were interrupted by a sharp electric shock.

"Ow!" She pulled back her hand, dropping the gem. It rolled off the panel and onto the floor.

Did the gem do that?

She picked the stone back up and brought it close to the control panel again. Nearing the electronics, the red glowed brighter, and when the two touched she was electrocuted, again flinching and dropping the gem. She felt silly having done the same thing twice but she needed to be sure. The gemstones weren't just currency after all.

Her spirits were lifted. Although the hard disk was a dead end, she finally got an idea.

She hurried through the ship, bringing the gems to the workshop, laying them down on the workbench and shifting the robot's legs out the way. Grabbing a few pieces of wire she stripped them, exposing the copper. She rummaged through her toolbox for some scrap component and found a lightbulb she meant to replace down in the hull. Hooking the wire up to the bulb, she grabbed a couple of crocodile clips and snapped them onto the little gem.

The light bulb lit up at once, before immediately blowing. She shielded her face from the bursting component.

"Shit!"

The rubber around the wires had melted and the copper glowed red. She could smell smoke. Grabbing her heat resistant gloves she just about managed to unhook one of the clips. It sparked as it came off the gem and the table was scorched where the wire sat.

The gems were an incredible power source, and that's what the bat faces were after.

* * *

Korra lied face up on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

She tried to think of a way forward - how would they ever defeat the robots? And even if they did, how would they ever fix their ship? Everything seemed to have fallen apart so much she had no idea where to even start.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called out.

Asami opened the door and took a couple steps in. "I know what the gems are," she said.

Korra looked up at her. The engineer was smiling from ear to ear. "Really?"

"Yeah. They're a power source. Obviously I still don't know _how_ they provide energy, but it's a lot of it." She noticed the Avatar didn't look too well. "You feeling alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just a headache." She tried to pull her thoughts together but it felt like every time she took hold of one, the others dashed off in opposite directions. She sat up on the edge of her bed. "Could that be what the robots are after?"

"I'm almost certain."

"Great."

"They're like mini batteries with a hell of a lot of power. We could try and find a way to harness it better, perhaps it would help us against the bat-faces."

Korra sighed. She didn't understand why she couldn't be as optimistic as Asami. "You know best," she said. "I don't know anything about that stuff."

Something about the Avatar was definitely off. Although Asami hadn't been on the crew long, she felt like they had grown close enough. She sat down next to Korra. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" She paused for a moment. The Commander avoided her gaze. "I know this whole thing is really crazy."

"I guess..." she took a deep breath and decided to just say it. "I'm so out of my depth. We haven't been through anything like this before and every time something happens I have no idea what to do."

"That's normal. None of us do."

"I just thought the commander is supposed to have a way out. That they always know what to do."

Asami chuckled. "That's ridiculous."

"Why?" Korra finally looked at her.

"Because this isn't the first crew I've been with, and you wouldn't want to know the number of useless commanders I've met. But you're far from it. I can't think of someone better to be stuck on this strange planet with." She noticed the Avatar blushed slightly.

"If you're not disappointed yet, there's still time." She smiled.

"Then we'll still have your back. Like you had mine in the crash."

Images of the landing flashed before Korra's eyes. She thought she would stop thinking about it by now, but every so often it still plagued her.

Asami placed a hand on Korra's shoulder. The Avatar was brought back to reality by her touch. "We're all here for each other, ok? Let us know if you need anything." She noticed the fallacy in her statement. Mako and Bolin weren't here, and it was just the two of them on the ship. "Let _me_ know if you need anything. Not everything has to fall on your shoulders."

That was more reassuring to hear than the engineer could have imagined. "Thank you," she replied. After a couple of moments, Korra became aware of their proximity, Asami sitting so close to her, despite having already pulled her hand away. Their faces were close enough that she could smell Asami's perfume and she blushed deeply. "Well err..." she cleared her throat, looking away. "The gems?"

"Yes. I was thinking to go see how they would do on our mainframe. We'll try the smaller of the two, just to see whether their energy is right for our tech."

"Sounds good."

The engineer stood up. "You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. Give me one moment."

She nodded and headed out.

Korra took a couple of deep breaths until the sweet smell was out of her nostrils. She couldn't be crushing on Asami. Not now, not ever as long as she was part of the crew. Yet she felt herself grow increasingly helpless around her. She could only hope that it wasn't noticeable to the engineer.

She let out a sigh in frustration, sliding her boots back on and grabbing her jacket.

Heading into the cockpit, she found her already booting up the system for a power check.

"Since we're usually powered by fusion I doubt this will be too much for the ship to handle," Asami held up the tiny gem between her fingers, having heard Korra walking in. She connected the gem to the control panel. The wires used here were much more resistant than the ones she originally tested it with and should be able to hold much better. "Let's see." The system began analyzing the power source and began outputting results onto the screen. "Ignore most of these," Asami said. "The system is programmed for fusion and fission sources so most of the calculations will be wrong, but the wattage should be good."

Korra nodded, as though she planned to understand anything anyway.

The program came to a stop and the gem powered down.

_Calculated Mass of Hydrogen: 12 kg_

Asami chuckled, unhooking the gem. "Impressive! Just over a tenth of our reactor in this one tiny thing. And the good news is it works well with our system." She switched interfaces on the control panel, logging herself out of the debug menu. She frowned as something popped up. The ship's decryption software was running. "Oh shit." Afraid that it could have been a virus of some sort, Asami hurried to erase the new data, but it was too late. The contents already displayed themselves across the screen. It wasn't a virus at all.

"What's this?" Korra asked.

The screen filled with flashing numbers and letters. Values. Units. Measurements. Asami tried to understand what they were. "These came from the gem."

"There was data in that thing?"

"I-I don't know."

"Does it... Does it mean anything?"

_New Entry Detected. Add to Database?_

Asami stared at the message for a moment before hitting yes.

The system churned through the data. Part of the engineer was worried that the program misread and was in the process of adding junk into its records just because it appeared in the right format. The screen darkened for a moment as it loaded, and the interface was paused. They waited patiently until the system was ready.

_View New Entry?_

Yes.

_Planet Name Unreadable_

_Select from menu:_

_Inhabitants_

_Climate_

_Composition_

"Is it talking about Kythera?"

Asami nodded. The system was unable to translate names, but the gem contained enough coding to let it decypher the rest of the contents. She took it in for a moment before pressing on the first option.

_New language detected. Produce translation algorithm?_

She pressed yes quickly. How could have the gem contained information?

_Algorithm finished successfully._

"Does... Does that mean...?"

She paused for a moment before it dawned on her. "We can talk to them." The engineer smiled. "We can talk to them."


	8. Chapter 8

"Scouting complete, Captain."

Kuvira looked down at the troop of robots coming back. She frowned. There were only two of them.

"What happened to the rest?" she asked.

The robots took a little longer to answer. "An accident."

"What accident?"

"A partial collapse."

"Shit. Is the way blocked?"

"No. It is still accessible."

"What did you find?"

"The report has already been sent to headquarters." The robots had started to scatter.

"I asked you something!" She yelled after them. "You will get back here and report to your superior!" Her voice boomed against the walls of the cave.

The machine looked back at her one last time. "The report has already been sent to headquarters." It proceeded to join the others, mining deeper into the ground.

The Flight Lieutenant was fuming. The robots' programming had obviously not been updated. She needed to let the bat-faces know of this before she could go any further. She left the operation as it was - the robots didn't need her guidance anyway it seemed - and she headed back up to the surface, crossing her arms as she waited in the elevator.

She traipsed along the edge of the quarry, hopping into a truck and driving away. She almost thought that their idea to rejuvenate the planet wasn't worth the effort. Once they had reached that navy blue soil it was so difficult to keep mining. She couldn't understand why - it was like the soil hardened every time they tried to dig into it. There surely were better things for a species this advanced to do. Whatever was at the center of the planet couldn't possibly be worth all this.

She pulled up next to the domes and wandered inside. The bat-faces were eating a bowl of the strange, foul-smelling fruit and she scrunched her nose as the stench.

"Kuvira," one of them stood as she entered. "Why are you back so early? Has something gone wrong?"

"The scouting mission has returned, but they won't report back to me. Their programming must be off again."

"Ah yes. We will have another look at that. We are sorry, it will be sorted soon."

She nodded. "What did they find?"

The bat-face waved its shiny hand dismissively. "Nothing of interest yet."

"We've only had two robots come back. Should I send a party to search for the rest?"

"No, they are confirmed dead on the system." The bat-face took a bite of the fruit and swallowed in one quick motion. "You shouldn't worry about the machines. They are built to be expendable."

"I would like to be on the next scouting mission. There must be something we're missing-"

"Scouting is not what you do," the bat-face interrupted. "We need you to oversee the rest of the operations. You mustn't worry about trivial things."

Kuvira held back her frustration and simply nodded. She only wished they'd get this over and done with already so they could leave this bloody planet.

* * *

Asami had spent nearly all day trying to rewire the earpieces. She removed both their transmitters and receivers and downloaded the translation algorithm onto them. To do that, she needed extra disk space, as the earpieces previously were not being able to hold information, only receive it from the main database. That meant the devices were slightly chunkier than before, but they still slotted nicely into their ears.

Evening rolled around, and the suns were starting to set.

"We should get these to Mako and Bolin," Asami said. She placed the brothers' earpieces into her pocket.

Korra had cleaned up a lot of the cockpit from the crash, occasionally glancing over at Asami while she worked. The engineer had been so focused over the devices, hunched over them on the control panel. The tiny wires must have been meticulous.

She handed the Commander her earpiece. "See how it fits."

"It's good."

"Brilliant."

They headed out, excited to test the devices. If all went well, the Kytheran speech would be translated straight into their ears, and their language should be translated for the Kytherans through the tiny speaker.

"So how did you become an engineer?" Korra asked as they traipsed along the desert.

"My father, mainly. He taught me how a car works when I was young and I suppose it spiraled from there."

"Was your dad an engineer too?"

"Yes. He used to own Future Industries, before he, well... before he died."

Korra glanced over at Asami, eyes wide. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry."

She waved her hand dismissively. "That was years ago. I signed the company over the Varrick. There was no way for me to be CEO and still work aboard spaceships, so I chose what I wanted most."

"That must have been tough."

"Not really. I love this job." She gestured towards the emptiness around them. "Even when I get stranded on these sorts of places."

Korra chuckled.

"So how did you become Commander?"

The Kytherans' city became visible now, and as much as they wanted to head further in to test the translation, they really had to get to Mako and Bolin. They expected the brothers would be just as excited to try out the earpieces. They found the stairwell leading underground again.

"It's what every Avatar before me has done," Korra said. "So I followed in their footsteps I suppose. I made good friends so I'm glad."

"I see." They came to the bottom of the staircase and took the elevator down. "Do you ever wish you did something else?"

Korra thought for a moment. "I don't see myself doing anything else. I like helping allied nations. And I wouldn't have met Mako and Bolin and Kuvira otherwise. Or you."

Asami smiled. "That's a valid point."

"Plus, being away for so long makes me enjoy the Air Temple Island that much more when I go back."

The engineer raised her brows. "You live there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It always seemed like such a peaceful place. So far from the chaos of Republic City. I'm a little jealous." She chuckled.

"Well," Korra rubbed the back of her neck, "maybe I'll show you around. When we get back?"

"Oh, thank you!"

The Commander was somewhat glad that Asami took the suggestion so casually. If she wasn't her crewmate, then perhaps she would have tried a little harder to make it sound more like how she meant it.

The elevator reached the bottom with a soft thud. The same six-legged beast sat next to it, though this time appearing to be asleep. Despite finding out it was friendly, they snuck past it quietly anyway. That thing was scary.

They made their way through the darkness, feeling the wall and remembering the general direction they were supposed to head in. As they rounded the corner, the blue light shone through and they could see again.

"Welcome back," Mako said. He sat leaning against a tree.

"Hi. Where's Bolin?"

The firebender sighed. "I thought he would get tired of that frog but..." he nodded towards the lake. Bolin was sitting by the edge, watching his toad and a few others hop between the plants.

"I take it no more robots came through."

"No, thankfully. It was a peaceful day."

Asami handed him his earpiece.

"What's this? Aren't we supposed to not use these?"

"Something... crazy happened," the engineer explained. "Just put it on. We'll see if it works."

Most Kytherans had left by now, having gone back for the night, but there were a few left tending to the fauna one last time before they too went back. A group had collected the last few drops of sap from the trees and were in the process of packing their tappers away.

Asami was the first to head over.

"Is the sap your only source of food?" she asked.

The Kytherans froze, listening to the words they recognized coming out of her earpiece. They took a few moments to realize what was happening, before answering excitedly, "You can talk to us!"

The engineer couldn't hold back her smile. "Yes!"

Mako stared wide-eyed, realizing he understood the Kytherans too. He turned towards Korra. "You guys did this?"

"Asami did."

Getting over their initial excitement, one of the Kytherans went on to answer the engineer. "Yes, it is. It's the only thing we need. That, and the water from the lake."

"I... I have so many questions." Asami chuckled. She had no idea where to start, but she was also aware that the Kytherans were tired and probably keen to get home.

"Kotharu will show you." They held up their palms before walking away. "They will show you."

Bolin rushed over by this point, seeing the commotion. He held Salvador and the toad seemed to burrow against his chest. "What's going on?"

Asami handed him an earpiece too. "We'll be able to talk to them."

The earthbender put the device in his ear, watching as the Kytherans had already left and realizing he missed it. "Dang it."

"Who's Kotharu?" Korra asked.

They looked around. All Kytherans seemed to be heading back except for one. They stayed behind and knelt down by a bush of red fibers, sprinkling a fine powder by the roots. They seemed to have heard the commotion but finished their work before standing and walking over.

"Kotharu?"

The Kytheran was a couple feet taller than them, and they craned their necks up to look at them.

"You finally did it," they said. "The planet finally spoke to you."

"It was the gems you gave me," Korra replied. She finally recognized them as the miner she met by the lake.

"Yes. When we sent the message to you, we used those same gems. It was a last resort, but we had no choice. You've seen the inorganic ones - they wish to use our planet but we cannot give it to them. Let me show you."

They beckoned the team to follow them as they headed out, traipsing in between the red shrubbery. Their tool belt was full of intricate utensils, and latched at their hip was a blue-bell lantern. As they ventured further, the flowers grew more sparse and they relied more and more on their and Mako's lantern. Bolin had let Salvador slide into his breast pocket, and the toad sat comfortably against the warmth of his chest.

"You may have heard my name is Kotharu," the Kytheran said as they walked. "I am one of the originals."

"Originals? What does that mean?" Korra asked, trying hard to avoid the sharp fibers of the shrubs.

"I was one of the first of my kind to be born from the heart. We were the first to set the cycle in motion."

"The cycle?"

"It will become more obvious. I hope you will see why it's important you must help us."

Although it was dark around the lanterns, the crew could tell they were reaching a dead end. They were surrounded by walls of navy blue and they wondered whether Kotharu had gone the wrong way.

"You will not understand this now," Kotharu said, "but please hold on to me. I will see you through to the other side where we will talk more. It is safer there."

They were right. The crew didn't understand, but they still held on to the Kytheran. They watched as Kotharu lifted their slimy palm and touched the wall. There was no time to register what was happening, as they were pulled through with them. Before they knew it, everything went dark, and there was great pressure against them. They struggled to breathe, but kept moving, not daring to let go. The light from the lanterns went out completely, but came back once they were through to the other side.

The crew took deep breaths, trying to calm themselves. The short, but agonising trip had been terrifying. They looked back. The impenetrable blue wall was now behind them.

"How?" Asami panted.

Kotharu waited for them all to regain their breath before gesturing to what was ahead of them. The ground here was no longer blue, but a deep red, and lining the wide cave were bundles of ore. The ores sparkled with the same gems the crew had been given.

"This is what the inorganic ones seek, but the planet's shell stands strong against them. They are struggling to drill through our soil."

"How did you do that?" Asami asked again. She wasn't going to let it go.

The Kytheran seemed to smile. "It is the same secret that the inorganics are trying to decipher. They think it's the ooze on our palms that does it, but the mucus is nothing more than a coupling gel. A way to match the impedance of our bodies to the planet so our energy can flow freely." They walked forward, bringing them closer to the ores of gems. "This is where we come from. The energy you found in the gems is the same energy that gave us life. Kytherans are connected to Kythera in a way you did not expect. Everything on this planet shares the same quantum entanglement, such that every particle in our body is the sister of Kythera's heart. And like all entangled particles, we manipulate each other."

"Your people come from..." Asami looked from Kotharu to the gems, "from these?"

"Yes. And so does every other life form on Kythera."

"But... you don't have infinite gems. How can new life keep growing?"

Kotharu motioned towards the floor. There were patches of freshly dug soil. "No energy is ever wasted. The originals were the first to start the cycle, and the Kytherans carry it on to this day. It is sometimes difficult to say goodbye to those of us who can not make it, but their energy always returns to the heart and will be reborn anew. We make sure of that."

"How... How old are you?" Korra asked.

"Millions of equinoxes. We do not keep track. Our energy has no end, it will always be back. We do not die by aging, but we are fragile and will need rebirth if we become too injured."

"When the robots burnt the field of blue-bells," Asami said, "it was more than just destroying crops. They took away from your planet's energy."

"Yes. Our cycle is frail. Though energy has no end, it can very easily get lost. Many species would consider this a valuable resource, since we have so much of what they desire, but this energy isn't for wars or machinery. It's for life to exist."

Asami immediately felt bad about having planned to use the gems as a power source. She realized it was not the reason they were given to them, but this prompted more questions. "How did the gems store data? How did they store code?"

Kotharu let out a series of high pitched noises. Perhaps it was a laugh. "Of course you think it's strange. How does our analog world communicate with your made-up, digital world? How was our distress signal even detected by your kind? But your electronics are a simplification of the real world. You have arranged electrons in a way so they can do your bidding and you may understand them. But fundamentally they still belong to the universe, and as long as they do, entanglement is still possible. It is why I was able to bring you through the wall. Our energy did not speak to you, it spoke to the fundamental particles it recognized."

The engineer wasn't sure she understood. It seemed like there was so much more about the quantum realm that she still could not comprehend.

"So here you see what we look after. Why we tend to everything we have as though they are our family. It is because they are." Kotharu looked at the crew, from one member to the next. "They wish to steal it from us. For us, it means certain death. For you, it means a threatening nation with an incredible source of power. It is in both our interests to stop this."

"We're trying our best. Any ideas? There's no way we can take on the whole horde," Korra said.

"Kytherans are not built for fighting, that's for sure. But the inorganics are not built for free will."

"It sure would be nice if we could access their mainframe, but our systems simply don't have any hacking power," Asami said. "Our only hope is a hard disk that we're unable to decipher." Then something clicked. "If your gems were able to speak to our systems, then perhaps there's a way to use them to understand theirs!"

Kotharu considered this for a moment. "Your quark arrangement was different from theirs so you wish for the gem to translate?"

"Well, when you put it like that it does sound like a silly barrier, but yes."

"I'm sorry. You cannot do that."

"Oh. Why?"

"In the brief moment in which the gem spoke to your system, it had entangled itself with every particle in your machine. We cannot risk the gem becoming one with the inorganic ones. We cannot predict their understanding of this, and whether they could use it to their advantage, no matter how small the time."

Asami nodded, although disappointed. "I understand."

"What about their arrangement is causing you problems?"

"The number system. Our system can't crack it. Something's off about it."

"I see. Why do you not bring it to us? We may help."

"Oh, thank you. Do you know about electronics?"

"Not at all. But you said it was numbers that were the problem."

"Right. Yes. We'll have a crack at it together then." She admired the Kytherans for their ingenuity, but decryption didn't seem like their strong suit. Still, it would be worth a shot. She looked over at the others. Mako was still listening. Korra was trying to listen. And Bolin had totally lost focus and was distracted by the ores. They were very impressive. Nothing like they had seen before.

"You are free to have a look as much as you like," Kotharu said. "Touching the ores will not harm you."

Hearing that, Bolin immediately went to see what the gems felt like. They were smooth and slightly warm. The red glowed brighter when he touched it.

* * *

Kuvira had left the leaders' dome, feeling a mixture of anger and frustration. She was dying to know what the hell went wrong on the ship in the first place, and why they even had to be in this situation. She didn't want to point fingers, but this had never happened with the previous engineer they had on board with them.

She meant to head back into her vehicle and drive back to the quarry when she caught sight of the new robots walking out of the warehouse. It was probably best to trust the bat-faces' words that they will fix the programming, but there was no harm in checking for herself. She knew her way around control systems.

Heading into the large building, she walked along the stacks upon stacks of supplies. Most of them were metals and circuitry. They had enough to keep building robots at this rate for years. At the center of it all was the production line. The automated arms put together robots, machines, and occasionally new cars, moving them from one stage to another on large conveyor belts.

She watched for a few seconds. Seeing the machines work was mesmerizing, but she shifted her focus back to what she came here for.

The control panel laid out the blueprints for the robots. She could check any part of them from the screen so she had a look at their given data. Something in that code should list her as a superior. Just as she thought, she didn't find herself on there.

"Bastards," she whispered.

She tried to edit the code, but a prompt on the screen stopped her.

_Administrator Required_

With a defeated sigh, she gave up and exited the menu. She was about to leave when something on the screen caught her eye.

_Prototype v3.4 Organic_

She frowned. Organic?

Opening the file was useless. It was written in machine code. She tried to look through the letters and numbers, trying to find something that might mean something to her. There was a code for one component that stood out, defined as _ORGNC,_ but unlike the other raw materials that were hyperlinked to their current stock level, this one wasn't. Whatever they were planning to use still had to be collected.

"Captain Kuvira?"

She spun round, face to face with a robot that had snuck up on her.

"Headquarters require you to return to your post. This is not your authorized area."

"I'm on my way," she replied through gritted teeth.

Something was afoot.


	9. Chapter 9

"Shyku will help you in the morning. They are our best mathematician."

The walk back didn't seem as long now that they had the lights of the blue-bells to follow. The sound of the waterfall became noticeable.

Judging by all the contraptions they had built with limited technology, it wasn't shocking that the Kytherans had a good understanding of maths and physics. There was still one question on Asami's mind, but she was afraid it would come across as offensive. Maybe it wasn't the time for it.

The lake came into view. It was probably night time by now, but there was no noticeable change in the caves, besides the fact that the creatures had disappeared. They were probably sleeping in their burrows. How did they know it was night?

Mako noticed Bolin gently stroking Salvador's forehead as he drifted off, his head hanging out of his pocket.

The entanglement that Kotharu had talked about must have been it. The creatures living underground and the Kytherans living above ground were bound to the same biological clock.

"Mako, Bolin," Korra said, "you two head back and get some rest. Asami and I will stay guard tonight."

"Take care," the firebender said.

They waved and headed off back to the ship.

"Shyku will visit you in the morning aboard your ship," Kotharu said. "You may show them what you are having trouble with."

"Thank you," Asami said. "And thank you for talking to us tonight. Sorry to have kept you awake so late."

Kotharu shook their head. "I do not go back to the surface anyway. The night can be turbulent at times when the moons orbit too closely. You will not notice it, but energy fluctuation will disgruntle the plants." They started wandering off, examining the flora. "I am here to ground them when it happens."

Asami watched them for a moment as they walked further along the lake's bank. There was so much science on this planet that was undiscovered to them back home. She wanted to think that when Iroh rescued them they will be able to record so much more information to take back with them. What they learned here could help them further understand the Universe as a whole.

"We can take turns sleeping," Korra said, interrupting Asami's thoughts.

The engineer brought her attention back to her. "Sure. Sounds good."

In their hurry to try out their earpieces, they realized they had forgotten to bring any sleeping bags. That would prove to be a big problem, considering that the ground was cold and wet.

Korra took her jacket off and laid it on the ground so they could sit against one of the trees. There wasn't much room on one jacket, so they budged closer together.

"I wouldn't have thought it would get cold in here during the night," Asami said, stretching her back against the bark. "But the whole energy entanglement makes sense. If there's no sunlight on the surface, there's less energy everywhere, right?"

Korra looked at her with a blank expression. "Right."

Asami couldn't help smiling. "I didn't really understand it either."

"Well, what hope do the rest of us have?"

The engineer nudged her with her elbow and chuckled.

As their laughter died down, they sat quietly and looked out at the lake. The surface of the water glistened so beautifully in the blue light, and the sound of the waterfall was soothing. With the critters being asleep, everything was still. The absence of even the tiniest gusts of wind made the flowers look like they were stopped in time, a snapshot of this moment, and all moments before it. There was something truly magical about Kythera, a beauty that was hidden beneath its shell.

Despite the scenery, they couldn't ignore the falling temperature. They hadn't expected this and didn't come prepared. Korra's uniform was warm enough for now, but Asami's torn overalls and tank top were less than ideal and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Are you cold?" Korra asked.

"A little. Sure isn't like the desert in here."

They huddled a little closer, shoulder to shoulder. It was helping a little bit.

As a few more minutes passed, the sound of the water and the dim lights were making Korra drift off, and she struggled to stay upright for a little while. Eventually, her tiredness won and she dozed off, unknowingly resting her head on Asami's shoulder.

The engineer smiled to herself, thinking how strange it would have been if this was any other Commander she had worked with. But she didn't actually mind, and if anything, welcomed the extra warmth. She sat still, trying not to disturb her, and glancing around her, looking out for any movement as well as admiring the caves. She couldn't spot Kotharu anymore. They must have headed off somewhere out of sight.

The Avatar shifted against her in her sleep, and before she had time to react, her head slid off her shoulder, falling forwards and snapping her awake. She blinked a few times, straightening back up.

"Did I doze off?"

"I think so."

"Oh. Sorry."

Asami smiled and stood up. "Don't worry about it. I'll take first watch, you get some rest." She motioned to a patch of grass amongst some blue-bells. She had noticed it while Korra was asleep. "That bit looks more comfortable."

The Commander nodded, standing and picking her jacket up, shaking the water droplets. "Take this with you," she handed Asami her jacket. "It's way too cold in here for you."

"Thank you."

She slid the jacket on as Korra lied down on the grass, snuggling against the blue-bells. The blue light looked pretty but provided little heat. It was still better than nothing, and the grass was soft underneath her. It felt like a wool blanket.

Asami watched her for a few seconds, just to make sure she was fine and the grass was alright. Seeing that Korra had gotten comfortable, she headed out to check the area.

She walked along the edge of the lake. The soil near the bank was soft and full of tall, yellow flowers, which reminded her of sunflowers. It was on the heads of these plants that the toads would usually sit, waiting for the next bug to fly past. It was probably also here that Bolin found his new friend.

"How does your kind fare?"

She jumped. She hadn't heard Kotharu walk up to her, and she didn't even know where they had come from. Judging by the bag of fine powder in their hand, she figured they had been kneeling down by some plants again.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Your people. I notice one of you was not here. Are your people connected like we are on Kythera?"

Asami was reminded of Kuvira betraying them. "No, we're not." Was it betrayal? She hadn't known the full story. The bat-faces manipulated them. "Our particles are separate from one another."

"But I see that you still connect with each other."

"We work together. It's what our race does best. We wouldn't be anywhere if we hadn't worked together."

"Yes, of course." They walked with her along the side of the lake, scanning the plants for irregularities. "On Kythera we have limited understanding of other races and their biology. As you may see, we have avoided outsiders quite well for a long time. So we have been trying to understand your kind ever since you landed."

"What do you want to know about us?"

"You work together, but one of your kind has left you?"

Asami sighed. "It was a misunderstanding. She made a decision, but she didn't have the same information we did."

Kotharu considered it for a moment. "And your kin has given you their clothing. They are helping you stay warm, despite not being able to feel your cold?"

"Yeah. I suppose so."

"Your kind is able to empathize."

"For the most part. There are bad people too."

"But if your friend empathized with you, why did they not help you when you were sitting together? Why would they not help you conserve your body heat then too?"

Asami looked up at Kotharu. She tried to understand what they meant. "But we were using her jacket at that time. She couldn't give it to me."

"Your kind knows they will conserve your energy by covering you. Why not apply logic, and help you by covering you themselves? The limbs are good insulators."

The engineer chuckled awkwardly. "Well, that wouldn't have been professional."

"Do your kind choose what sort of help is acceptable?"

"Physical contact is not always acceptable. So when you put it like that then... yeah, I suppose so."

"Why is it not?"

Asami thought for a moment. She was unsure of how to explain. "Sometimes it can be an intimate thing. It would be uncomfortable in the wrong setting." She looked up at Kotharu. She could almost guess their next question and she somewhat dreaded it.

"What is intimacy?"

The questions were more difficult than Asami could have imagined. "Do Kytherans not love?"

"We love everything and everyone because they are our family."

"On Earth, our planet, we sometimes love people that aren't our family. And there are many types of love too. It's all... very complicated."

"Did your kin not embrace you because they do not love you?"

"That's... well no, but... yes?" She held back a sigh. "She cares for us as her friends and crewmates but doesn't love us as her partners. They're two different things. And there is a type of intimacy that is only suited for one of those."

Kotharu seemed to be starting to understand. "I see. She did not embrace you so you would not think she is your partner."

"You're... phrasing it strangely, but yes. I guess."

"Only partners embrace?"

"Well... no. Friends do too." She was starting to see the fault in her logic, but Kotharu strangely seemed to nod in understanding.

"I see. You cannot embrace for you are uncertain of the degree of your relationship, and the nature of the gesture is too wild of a probability check between the parameters. Your kin would desire certainty over possibility."

"What?"

Kotharu had knelt down by a bush of small, flowers with curly leaves. They ran their hand along the ground to soften it, before sprinkling powder at their roots.

"What do you mean?" Asami asked again.

The Kytheran finished their job before turning back to her. "I am sorry. I am not used with your kind. Perhaps I draw the wrong conclusions." They resumed their walk and Asami followed. "There is still plenty to learn, but I have prodded enough."

The engineer looked back across the lake. In the distance, she could just about make out the patch of grass that Korra was sleeping on. Maybe her explanations to Kotharu hadn't been the best, and they probably misunderstood what she was telling them. They saw relationships as probabilities now - not something she had meant to get across. She wasn't used to teaching, she had only ever been learning.

Human interaction couldn't be broken down into numbers and mathematics. Surely.

The Kytheran tilted their head. "Did you have any questions about us?"

As they asked that, she also remembered the question that sprung to mind on their way back. She was wary to ask it, but it didn't seem like Kotharu would mind.

"I was just wondering," she said, "you are intelligent beings. How come you never developed your own technology? What made you keep living the same way all these years?"

Kotharu seemed to chuckle. "We have plenty of technology, you just do not see it as such." They gestured towards their tool belt. "As much as you have back on your spacecraft, you may have never tapped our trees, harvested our plants, or even seen our planet's heart. Consider the inorganics. They are widely unsuccessful."

"You're right, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I meant there are things you could do to make your life easier. An automatic elevator, or some sort of communication device."

"We are more protected this way. If our way of life does not depend on electronics, then the rest of the galaxy holds little power over us. You learned that the hard way, did you not?"

Asami cast her glance to the ground. Their ship was in this state because it relied on digital information. Kotharu was right, and she was somewhat embarrassed to have even asked in the first place.

"Your ways are powerful but unreliable. The inorganics had no way to take control over us, and had to resort to starving us out, to destroy the way of life that threatens them, because they do not understand it."

"Sorry I asked that. I didn't mean to be rude, I was just curious."

"Not a problem. We appreciate the way you want to learn about us. Your thirst for knowledge is admirable amongst Kytherans."

Asami smiled. She was glad they weren't bothered by her questions.

They walked on a little longer, curving around the side of the waterfall and slowly walking back to where they started, having gone full circle around the large lake. Asami's boots were covered in the blue mud. It was always a pain to wash off. Something about the soil was unusually resistant.

It was difficult to know how much time had passed down here, but she became aware of her own tiredness. She wondered how Kotharu managed not to sleep.

"I will go tend to what is left of the blue-bell field," they said.

"Don't go alone. Hold on, I'll get Korra to switch with me."

They waited as she walked over to the Avatar. She knelt down next to her on the grass. If she could, she would have gone herself and let her sleep for the rest of the night, but she needed the rest. She touched Korra's shoulder, giving it a gentle nudge.

"Korra?" she whispered.

The Avatar mumbled as she came to. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times against the light of the blue-bells. Her vision slowly focused on Asami's face above her. For a single moment, there was a feeling of peace, before she remembered they're just switching guard.

She sat up, straightening her shoulders and stretching her back. The grass was soft, but not the most comfortable.

"How are you feeling?" Asami asked.

"Good. I slept alright." She hadn't really. She vaguely remembered the dreams that plagued her.

"You good to stay watch for a while?"

"Yeah." She stood up, letting Asami lie down in the patch of grass.

"Kotharu wants to check out the field of blue-bells. I said they shouldn't go alone."

Korra nodded. "Alright. I'll go after them."

"Stay safe."

"Get some rest."

As the Commander headed off with Kotharu, Asami lied down where Korra had been. The grass was still warm from her body heat and she tried to fall asleep.

"May we go now?" Kotharu asked.

"Sure," Korra replied. She let them lead the way as she kept an eye out for anything.

The blue-bell field seemed to be slowly regenerating. The burnt flowers were cleared so there was room for new ones to grow. Scattered around in the soil were little shoots poking their head out of the ground.

Korra was extra vigilant. It was here that they were first attacked and she looked down the further into the caves. She listened out for movement besides Kotharu rustling through the plants. There was nothing

"Hopefully it'll be a quiet ni-"

A long, high pitched shriek made her spin round. Kotharu was struggling against a thick net. The more they swung at it, the more it seemed to tighten around them.

"Don't - stay still!" She had no time to rush over. A beam of energy skimmed past her hip and struck the ground in front of her.

They were back.

* * *

Asami tried to get comfortable against the grass, and although it wasn't bad, she couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't understand it - she was so tired, but she was deep in thought. She kept thinking back to her conversation with Kotharu. It had been so strange having to define all those meanings to him, but most of all it got her thinking about herself. She hadn't had a lot of time to herself to wrestle with her own feelings since they crashed, and now she wondered whether she even should.

She sighed and slid her arm under her head, closing her eyes.

Just barely, she made out a screech.

She immediately sat up, listening out. She wasn't sure if she'd heard right.

There was another.

Without hesitation, she sprung up, sliding her glove over her hand and running towards the sound. She panted, panic settling in.

* * *

Korra's heart was racing, seeing the two bots charging up their guns one more time. She threw herself out of the way of the energy beams, sending a ripple through the ground as she landed, aiming for the robots' feet. They side-stepped out of the way, walking closer, getting ready to fire again. She threw a kick of fire towards them and they braced before advancing once more. She remembered fire did nothing to them.

She stood up just in time to leap out of the way again, briefly catching sight of the scorched craters the shots left behind. Trying to stop the robots, she tore of a chunk of the wall and hurled it towards them, sweeping them off their feet and crushing them against the ground. She breathed heavily, but she had no time to relax.

The sound of metal clanking resonated off the walls of the caves and she hurried to Kothaku. She clawed at the net, trying to figure out how to let them out, but polymer fibres were strong and every time she tried to rip them they tore into her skin. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the horde of robots approaching, so with one last burst of strength, she grabbed onto the net tightly and yanked as much as she could, her arms burning and her fingers bleeding against the sharp fibers. The marching was approaching more and more, and the net was refusing to budge.

"Come... on..." she panted.

She heard the sound of the energy beams charging. She turned towards the horde, seeing the glowing gun barrels too late. The shots fired towards her.

There was no time to react, until something threw itself at her, shoving her to the ground. She felt the heat of the energy beams skimming past her, but they missed. On the ground with her was Asami.

"T-thank you."

The engineer barely even registered what she said, already on her feet again. She kicked a robot away from them and zapped him. He collapsed and she turned her attention to the others.

Korra was up too now and they found themselves cornered by the bots.

"Same strategy?" Korra said.

"Yeah."

She swirled the air around them as the robots struggled to hold themselves up against the gust. There were too many though, and Korra wasn't able to round them all up. A few had fallen to the electricity, but the rest were unscathed. They advanced further, backing Korra and Asami up, their guns pointed at the two. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do. They were far too outnumbered and they stared wide-eyed at what awaited them.

Without warning, the robots dropped their weapons. Time seemed to stand still as they tried to understand what was happening but before they knew the bots were retreating. They turned and ran.

Silence fell once more.

Korra looked across at Kotharu. They weren't there anymore.

"Kotharu?" she called out.

She looked around them frantically.

"Kotharu?!"

The Kytheran was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit," Korra whispered. "They took Kotharu." She gulped. "We have to run after them! We might get them back if we hurry!" She started running down towards the darkness after the robots.

"Korra, wait!" Asami sprinted to catch up to her, grabbing her shoulder and stopping her. "We can't, there's too many!" She struggled to get her to stand still. "We can't-"

"I'll do it! I'll get them back!" She tried to break free from her grip.

"No!" Asami grabbed her wrist before she could make another run for it. "I won't let you. We can't lose you."

Korra stood still enough to look back at the engineer. Her eyes were full of worry.

"We'll get them back soon," she carried on. "They'll be fine. The robots didn't want to hurt them, only us." The Avatar didn't seem to want to run off anymore, but she didn't let go of her wrist just in case. "We'll have a plan. Soon."

Tears started to form in Korra's eyes. "I-I couldn't break them free."

Asami saw the hurt on the Commander's face and pulled her into a hug. "They'll be fine," she whispered, rubbing her back gently. She wanted to keep saying that. She wanted to speak it into existence.

Sadness welled inside her too. If Kotharu could see this, they would have many questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I know I know there's been so much dialogue all the time but listen... I have no way to defend it xD It's just so fun to write.


	10. Chapter 10

It was getting late and Kuvira shouldn't have stayed. She should have gone back by now, but she couldn't ignore these "scouting" missions, especially since the bots had been sent out into the night. She had tried to follow them silently, hanging back and only following the sound of their clanking but at some point, she lost track of them. These goddamn caves were so huge.

There wasn't much she could do. Without a doubt she would get lost here, so she waited patiently for them to return, crouched in a patch of wiry red ferns. Their leaves poked her, but it was the only place she could hide.

After a while, she heard the metal clanking again and poked her head out to take a look. She didn't expect to see much, so when she spotted the writhing net they hauled back she nearly gasped. She couldn't make out what it was from this distance, but as they got closer and marched past her, she realized it was a Kytheran. The poor soul struggled endlessly against the net.

_Scouting mission my ass._ She thought to herself. She was seething with fury.

As the robots passed, she could finally come out and follow them back. She wasn't aware that the horde had split, and the second half of the robots came marching from behind. As soon as she heard them, she knew she was fucked.

"Captain Kuvira," she heard the monotonous tone say. "Headquarters will be opposed to your stationing. Please follow us."

"I'm on my way back. I dropped something and had to look for it."

"Please come with us."

She waved her hand dismissively and started walking away. "There's no need. I'm already going back."

The robots grabbed her wrists and wrung her arms behind her back. She tried to break free but their grip was too strong.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" She bellowed. "Let me go at once!"

They didn't say anything as they led her away.

* * *

The lakeside was disturbingly lonely without the Kytherans and with Kothaku gone.

"I suppose we better stay anyway. In case they come back and try to destroy anything else," Asami said.

Korra tried to stay positive. Whatever little sleep she had was troublesome already, and the sudden fight drained her more. She slumped down onto the patch of grass and rubbed her face. "It just feels like we're running out of time."

Asami sat next to her. "We just have to put our hopes in that hard disk. Best case scenario we can access their mainframe and power everything down."

"And worst case?"

The engineer couldn't lie. "Worst case is we can't read the disk after all."

Korra sighed. "Worth a shot."

They sat in silence for a few moments, just staring out at the lake, deep in thought. Just an hour earlier Kotharu had been walking around the lake with Asami. The Kytheran had been so curious about the strangest things. Nothing about what their planet was like, how their bodies worked, what sort of technology they had. They had just wanted to know how they treated each other. That in itself told Asami all she needed to know about their species. The most important things to them were their relationships with everything around them.

"I keep having nightmares," Korra broke the silence suddenly.

Asami looked at her but her gaze was fixed on the ground. "Nightmares?"

Korra nodded. "Ever since the crash. I don't know why."

"It was stressful. I don't blame you. And you risked your life."

"We both did. But I can't stop thinking about it. Everything from the system not making sense in the cockpit, to the reactor going wrong and-" she sighed, trying to form her thoughts, "I think the less you understand something the more you fear it. And nothing that happened was something I knew how to stop." She brought her knees to her chest. "And everything spiraled from there and now I'm acting like a coward, pitying myself. Sorry, I don't know why I told you this."

Asami scooted closer and put her arm around Korra's shoulders. She tilted her head to try and see her face. The Avatar looked like she had a few tears forming but she was trying to hide them. "You're not a coward for being afraid. You need to get things off your chest, that's fine. And the nightmares won't last forever."

She leaned further into Asami. She didn't care whether they were being professional or not - right now, her touch was more comforting than she thought.

The engineer didn't mind though, and she rubbed Korra's arm with her hand. She wanted to help Korra more than anything, but something about seeing her tears made her own emotions run wild. She tried not to, but felt her eyes tearing up too. She was also just as afraid. Seeing Kotharu taken away like that, and knowing they can't go after them, was the last straw for her too.

In a silent, mutual agreement they pulled each other into an embrace and stayed like that for a few moments. Everything was new. Everything was scary. But for a while time stood still and they felt safe.

As they pulled away, Asami chuckled, rubbing a couple of tears off her cheeks.

"What's funny?" Seeing her smile, Korra smiled too.

"It's so strange."

"What?"

"People. Kotharu was asking me about how we interact with each other. I don't even know if what I told them is right."

"What did they ask?"

Asami thought back to their conversation. It might have been awkward to recount word for word, so she decided to leave out context. "They wanted to know about how intimacy works. Oddly enough he was concerned about why sometimes we hug and sometimes we don't. They didn't really understand though, but I wasn't very good at explaining. I don't even know if I understand it myself."

Korra nodded. "Maybe the only thing people know about people is that we don't understand people."

The engineer giggled. "That's the truest thing I've ever heard."

"And you've read science books."

She scoffed. "If only we knew science at least." She leaned back against her hands. "I suppose things would be easy if people were just honest with each other."

"Some people lie, but a lot of people are."

"No no. I meant if people just told us what they wanted. If we could just always tell each other how we feel without being afraid. Maybe then people wouldn't be so complicated. It just feels like a guessing game."

Korra gulped, looking at Asami. She was staring out at the lake and the blue light framed the side of her face beautifully. "Yeah," she said. "That would be nice." This wasn't the time nor the place though. The engineer turned her head towards her. She had such striking green eyes. She also looked incredibly tired.

"You should really get some sleep."

Asami rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't we all."

"You especially."

"Maybe you go ahead. I feel like there's too much in my head to sleep."

"Same here." She considered something for a moment. Was it really so inappropriate after everything they've been through? Surely the rules were skewed out here. "Maybe it would help if it wasn't so cold. You really should rest." She held her arms out hesitantly, gauging Asami's reaction.

The engineer looked at her for a second before leaning into her and lying down on the grass with her. She nearly held her breath at first, uncertainty coursing through her, but the feel of the Avatar's warmth was quick to remind her how tired she was. She really hadn't slept in a long time.

Korra was a little shocked that Asami had gone through with her preposition, but she was glad. The cold was starting to get to her too.

They shifted a bit and got comfortable, and the exhaustion settled in for both of them. It didn't matter who was keeping watch anymore. It felt like they had already lost tonight's battle. All that was left to do was live through the defeat.

* * *

The faint sound of buzzing woke Korra up. She blinked her eyes open, drifting back to reality. The first thing she felt was Asami's body heat against her. For the first time since they arrived, she couldn't remember what she had dreamt. Finally a peaceful night.

Her arm was numb under the engineer but she didn't even care. She was about to pretend she was still asleep just to stay like that a while longer, if it wasn't for the dragonfly that came to sit on her face. She scrunched her nose and tried to shake it off smoothly, but the bug insisted. She swatted it away with her hand, but the bug only went ahead and bothered Asami instead.

The engineer sneezed as it ghosted against her nose before flying away.

Korra couldn't help laughing at how cute Asami's sneeze sounded.

"Good morning to you too." She turned her head, just enough to see the Avatar out of the corner of her eye.

"Morning."

The caves were warming up again, and soon the Kytherans would come back, but for some reason, they stayed like that for a few more seconds, in silence. It felt like if they broke the embrace, they would have to address it.

Finally, Asami went to sit up and Korra pulled her arms away. They sat on the grass, stretching their backs.

The Avatar dreaded for things to be awkward. She searched for anything to say. "How did you sleep?"

"Well, thanks. You?"

"Good."

If only Kotharu had been right. All Asami would have had to do now was some quick mental maths to figure out what to say next. But how in the world would she even put the fact that she snuggled up to her Commander? Perhaps some things were best left undiscussed. Despite that maybe she wanted to.

"Mako and Bolin should be here soon," she said.

Korra sighed. "We'll have to tell them what happened to Kotharu."

The toads croaked as they climbed up onto the sunflowers. Asami could just about see them in the distance, their stout bodies plonking down onto the face of the flowers, but the stems held them steady. Life went on so cluelessly.

* * *

The brothers had listened to their story. After a few moments of letting things sink in, they all agreed on the same course of action. The hard disk was their last hope.

Korra and Asami headed back to the ship. They had never thought they would be so glad to bask in the heat of the desert after the night in the cold caves. Even the light of the suns was refreshing.

Standing outside the ship they found a Kytheran. They stood patiently by the door, waiting for them to arrive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Korra said, letting them into the ship.

"It's fine," Shyku replied. They stared up at the ceiling as the fine mist of disinfectant sprayed down on them. As they walked through the corridors into the cockpit they studied the ship attentively. Although they had probably never seen anything like this before, they observed their surrounding calmly. Asami had expected questions, but they didn't ask any.

The engineer picked up the hard disk off the control panel and showed it to the Kytheran. "Encryption is nearly always number based. But their number system makes no sense, and the ship can't crack it," she explained, pointing to the numerical symbols on the surface of the disk. "And these inscriptions. Nothing like the number systems I've seen before. The symbols don't repeat at all. There's no pattern."

Shyku took the hard disk from her and held it close to their face. "You are incorrect."

Asami waited for their explanation but they were busy still scanning the numbers. "How so?" she asked eventually. She didn't want to sound impatient, but she had been waiting a long time to crack the encryption.

"It is the most recognizable pattern of mathematics," they said. "Their system is just a sequence of prime numbers." They handed the hard disk back to Asami. "The pattern is universal. It should be easy to decipher."

The engineer blinked, looking from the Kytheran to the disk and back again. "You recognized the prime sequence?"

"Yes. The symbols are irrelevant. The sequence is a fundamental law."

"That's why the ship couldn't do it. There's no algorithm for prime numbers. There's no way for our systems to work with these without knowing what number comes next." Her hope was dwindling. Mathematicians had spent thousands of years trying to crack the primes, and there had never been a way. Earth's tightest encryptions featured primes, and they were undecipherable.

"Is that a problem?" Shyku asked.

Asami frowned. "Yes. We can't compute these."

"You have not studied primes on your planet?"

"We have. For many years, and never cracked them."

"That is strange. Nature had done it since the dawn of time. You must be familiar with the zeta function, yes?"

Asami had never studied pure mathematics specifically, but she had read about the function and Euler briefly in her college years. "Somewhat."

"The distribution of the primes is simple. The function will output them for you, you must implement it into your system."

Korra watched in awe, trying hard to listen to all these things she didn't understand. For the first time since she had met her, she watched Asami look at the Kytheran with a blank, clueless expression.

"The... the function is not understood like that. We've never been able to use it. We... we have a hypothesis actually but no has proven it..."

Shyku shook their head. "It is a fundamental law." They seemed displeased at first, but quickly regained their composure. In a mathematician fashion, they felt slowed down by having to explain their reasoning. "You must understand imaginary numbers."

Asami nodded faintly.

"Inputting complex numbers into the zeta function will give zeroes on the critical line. The waves produced at each zero will model the primes."

The engineer said nothing.

"You must be able to picture it, yes?" Shyku insisted.

Asami shook her head.

"It is only four dimensions."

Silence.

Seeing that the two humans were unresponsive to their explanations, the Kytheran realized it would take more to get them to understand. They would get nowhere if the humans couldn't see the function for themselves.

"I will be able to show you." They considered their own proposition for a moment. Something seemed to be troubling them. "It... it is not ideal but if you cannot picture it you cannot understand it. Do your kind not see the four dimensions?"

Asami was shocked to be asked this. "We only see three."

The Kytheran was taken aback. "That explains a lot. Still, there is a way. Has Kotharu explained quantum entanglement to you?"

"S-Sort of."

"I am able to give you the knowledge I have and let you see what I see through the same process, but... We have never done it with your kind and we do not know how your biological matter works. I am afraid that it may permanently damage your tissue."

"You'll connect to our brains."

"Yes. Every quark of mine will communicate with every quark of yours. Will this impact the way your neural tissue functions?"

Asami's heart quickened. How was she supposed to know? She looked over at Korra. The Commander had nothing but worry written all over her face.

"Asami, what if it's not a good idea?" Whatever she did understand from their conversation was that something might go terribly wrong.

The hard disk in her hand could have been the key to getting Kotharu back, and to neutralizing all of the robots. "It's our only chance," she said. She turned back to Shyku. Just before she was ready to give them the green light, so many possibilities ran through her head. She had no idea what this will do to her, whether it would change the way she thought, who she was, or whether it would just straight up kill her. "Let's do it."

The Kytheran nodded, rubbing their palms together. "This may be unpleasant," they said, "but it will match our acoustic impedances so the energy waves may flow unhindered between us." They knelt down and she sat in front of them, crossing her legs. They placed their slimy hands onto her head. "The first few attempts may not be successful."

Korra watched, holding her breath. Asami had closed her eyes and Shyku focused. The Kytheran began their first attempt, and Asami grunted, her face scrunching in pain. The Avatar knelt next to her. She wanted to come close but she was afraid she would interfere so she kept her distance.

Suddenly, Asami screamed in pain and jerked her head out of Shyku's hands. She panted, clutching forehead.

"I am sorry," the Kytheran said. "It is difficult. I am trying to map your arrangement to begin."

"It's... it's fine..." Asami was trying to catch her breath. Her head was stinging and she felt like she might pass out.

Korra gulped. "You don't have to do thi-"

"Ok. Try again," the engineer said and leaned back towards Shyku.

This time, things went a little smoother, and Asami withstood the initial pain. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she didn't feel in control of herself anymore. She couldn't feel her body, and soon, she couldn't even remember what was happening. She felt her senses being wiped completely and found that she was unable to produce a single thought. Her whole self felt blank, as though she had ceased to exist. Before long, her mind was clouded with one thing, and that was the landscape of the zeta function, mapped across planes of numbers. Without explanation, she was able to see all of it at once, all of its 4 dimensions laid out in front of her, and she could study its hilly appearance. To the East it plateaued but to the West, it grew wild. Her attention was focused on the critical line, one single hill that stretched out to infinity. And the same hill also dipped, poking zeroes into the function, and each time it came down, it sprouted beautiful patterns of waves. Inside the waves, she saw the primes arranged so neatly, as though they never even had been a mystery.

Without warning, she was pulled out of the graphical world. Her thoughts returned and the first thing she felt was the slime pressed against her temples. The Kytheran took their hands away and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Were you able to see it?"

Asami took a few seconds before she was able to form words. "Yes." She looked around her. Everything was the same but she felt like she had been here for a long time.

"Your thoughts and perception may be skewed. Your neuronal pathways may have not all gone untouched."

She nodded.

"The information is with you now. You may still access it. But the entanglement is not forever, and you will lose it in time."

As she thought of the primes, she saw the same landscape again. In that brief period of time, the fourth dimension was visible, but as soon as she looked back to the room it was gone.

"T-thank you."

"Are you ok?" Korra asked. Her voice was shaky and she watched Asami with wide, fearful eyes. Things must have looked scarier than they actually had been.

"Yeah. I don't think I feel any different." Perhaps they had been paranoid to think things would change.

The Avatar let out a sigh of relief. At that moment she wanted to hug Asami and tell her she was glad she was ok, but she shook the thought away quickly. There was more to be done yet.

"May you now use it?" Shyku asked. "Do you understand it?"

"Yeah." Asami chuckled. "I saw them. I saw the primes. We can crack the disk!"

She couldn't hide her excitement, not just at finally deciphering the information, but also at being able to see something that Earth's mathematicians had never been able to. Years of work and not a single person could see the primes this way.

"I believe you must program it into your system."

"It shouldn't take long." The engineer booted up the control panel and immediately got to work. "This is amazing!" She exclaimed one last time.

Whether Korra understood what had just happened didn't matter. Seeing Asami so excited was enough to fill her heart with happiness. Part of her wondered whether that was a problem she should deal with, but the rest of her reveled in the joy they've both needed for so long.

* * *

"Get. The _FUCK._ Off me!" Kuvira yelled as she was forced into the back of the truck. From what she could tell she wasn't even going to be taken to see the bat-faces. She had no idea where the bots were taking her, but it was clear they were being given instructions remotely.

She tried to kick and flail against them, but it was no use. Before long, her hands were bound behind her back and they had tied her feet together too.

They seemed to have taken her to the warehouse, and dragged her inside. They pushed and shoved her until she limped with them, the ties around her feet not allowing her to take full steps. She was forced down towards the back, weaving in and out of crates and conveyor belts. Her heart dropped, passing the metal cage in which they had put the Kytheran. As they walked her past, her eyes met the creature's. The enclosure was just barely wide enough for them to sit down.

Her attention was brought to a robot standing before her.

"Captain Kuvira, you have been reassigned," the robot spoke. "You will tend to the production lines with me."

"Untie me then."

"Unfortunately you have lost certain privileges."

"What are you talking about?"

The robot held up a rectangular device. Tiny spikes were sticking out of one of its faces in a straight line. "We have gathered enough data on your species from accessing your ship's database to have designed this."

"You what?"

"Please stand still so I may insert this with minimal damages."

"What?!" Kuvira tried to break free from the robots holding her but it was useless. The bot grabbed her hair and yanked her head down, exposing the back of her neck. She writhed and writhed, but it didn't stop them. In one swift motion, the robot pressed the spiked device into her neck, stabbing her spine. Kuvira yelled in agony, a burning pain spreading through her body as her legs gave out under her.

"Headquarters have decided you cannot be trusted with orders. The device will only make you useful again."

She panted and tried to move her body. She felt the electricity course through her spine. Whatever the device was, it was hindering her movement and everything she did was slow and clumsy.

"What have you done?" she breathed. Even speaking was difficult.

The robots undid her bindings. It made no difference. She was unable to run and could barely stand back up. All her movements appeared in slow motion and she nearly burst with anger.

"Perfect," the robot said. "Now you may receive your tasks. Please follow me as we inspect the productions."

Kuvira looked down at herself in shock. She felt trapped in her own body.


	11. Chapter 11

While Asami was rewriting the code of the ship's software, Korra had taken Shyku on a tour of their spacecraft. Although she wasn't great at explaining how their gear worked, it was good enough for them that she just told them what it does. They were surprisingly good at figuring things out themselves.

The mathematician was excited to see how their ship worked, so she brought them down to see the reactor, or what was left of it.

"The hydrogen was drained, but this was supposed to be a fusion reactor."

Shyku walked around the lead cylinder. "A fraction of a star. Interesting."

Korra nodded. "Yeah. We spent a long time back on Earth trying to perfect this."

"How do you plan on fixing this?"

The Commander had no idea. "Well... we aren't. Right now, anyway."

"I see." The Kytheran looked all around them, studying the pipes and control panels. "It is impressive that your species built this. Especially when you have limited understanding." Korra followed their gaze. They seemed to be looking at things that weren't there.

She would have also loved to counter that point, but they were right. After everything, even Asami admitted to not understanding so many things that the Kytherans knew and used.

Before Shyku could embarrass humanity further, the intercom crackled. "The program ran. I'm trying the hard disk." Asami's voice came through.

They rushed back to the cockpit. The engineer was hunched over the control panel, waiting for the software to finish decoding. Even with the right algorithm now, the ship was taking a while to run through it.

They gathered around her, watching the screen. It felt like time had slowed down.

Finally, the screen started to light up, but it wasn't what they expected. The disk didn't output any data, just a crazy amalgamation of corrupted symbols.

"Is... Is that what's supposed to happen?" Korra asked.

Asami scrolled through whatever that was. "Something's off about the data on the disk." She tried zoning in on specific areas of the gibberish. Copying a line of the corruption and pasting it into the software somehow cleared it up. "There's nothing wrong about individual pieces of data, but the way they're arranged on the disk is like..."

"There must be connective tissues between the data that your digital electronics do not decipher," Shyku said.

Asami was thinking something similar. "So the robots have a brain. The information is interconnected. They're like synapses."

Korra rubbed her face. "Someone tell me if this is good or not."

"It... It means our ship can't access their systems but we have someone who can."

"Are you thinking about the robot?"

The engineer smiled. "Guess we finally get to fix him." She stood up, already planning what she's going to need to get the beat-up robot running again. As she rose to her feet she caught something out the corner of her eyes - an undulating flash of light. She spun her head, but it was gone as fast as it came.

"Are you ok?" Korra asked.

She frowned. "Thought I saw something." She shrugged it off. There were more important things to worry about.

* * *

Kuvira body was on fire. She grunted with every movement, moving things on and off the damned conveyor belt. Even the lightest piece of aluminum hurt her joints, and everything she did was frustratingly slow. What's worse, there was always a robot watching her, making sure that cursed device stayed on and she never reached for it.

What was left intact were her own thoughts. She tried endlessly to plan her escape, but there seemed to be no way out. Robots roamed every inch of the warehouse and without a doubt, the bat-faces had eyes everywhere.

Early that morning the robots had come for the Kytheran. She watched discreetly as they opened their cage and dragged them out. She noticed the door was operated with a code. It would probably serve no purpose to her but she caught sight of the three digits as they entered them.

357

As she shifted components on and off the production line she struggled to remember the sequence against her pain.

About an hour later they had brought the Kytheran back and locked them in the cage once more. As subtly as she could, she checked the sequence of numbers to make sure she had it right. The robots inputted 357 again to lock the creature up. Perfect.

Not like she could do anything about it.

She also noticed something strange about the Kytheran. They slumped down in their cage, hugging their knees. They seemed to be in pain. Kuvira searched their body, wondering if the robots did something to them. Whatever it was, it wasn't immediately obvious.

"Captain Kuvira," the robot's voice boomed behind her. "You're slowing down."

She huffed and hauled the next piece of aluminum onto the belt. How ironic that they still insisted on calling her captain.

* * *

While Shyku had been keen to learn about their ship, they passed on the opportunity to stay and watch them repair the robot. They insisted on getting back to their own duties now that the hard disk was deciphered, and they headed out shortly. Asami and Korra thanked them for their help. Although initially, they had seemed frustrated with the humans' lack of knowledge, they said it had been a pleasure.

Now Korra sat down at the far corner of the workbench, watching as Asami was rewiring the components inside the robot's skull.

"Are you sure he won't attack us?" she asked.

"Positive." She held up a tiny square component. "Just an extra thing I'm putting in. An inhibitor, sort of. It'll overwrite a lot of the commands."

The solder smoked slightly as she heated it over the component to attach it. She couldn't be worried about a fume hood right now, they just had to get this done as soon as they could.

Korra had pretended to look at the robot circuitry long enough, but truly she couldn't take her eyes off the engineer. Maybe she was wrong to think her feelings towards her would dwindle. She was also definitely wrong for getting so close to her last night. It had not helped. But the way she worked so meticulously was enthralling. Every time she focused on a small component, she got that same crease between her brows as she squinted slightly. Maybe after all her time working on circuits like this, her eyesight wasn't as good anymore. Korra regretted thinking about that, now busy picturing how cute she would look with glasses. Wouldn't she look cute in anything though? Were there really that many people alive on Earth who could turn heads in a dirty, ripped pair of overalls? It took everything in the Commander's power not to be obvious in her staring.

"Nearly done," Asami said. She focused as she went to connect the last part. Just before it made contact, she saw the same flash of lights and she flinched. She blinked a few times, looking into the robot's skull. She feared they had been sparks, but there weren't any short circuits - everything was healthy.

"Are you ok?" Korra asked.

She felt silly. This was the second time something strange happened. "Yeah. Just thought I saw something again." She ignored it and went ahead and connected the component. Now the robot should have been ready to turn on. "Brilliant. Now we should be able to use him to navigate their network."

She pulled out her tablet. With a few taps, the robot came to life. He looked around him a few times and sat up.

Korra stood, ready to pin him down but Asami put her hand up to stop her. "He's fine."

The Avatar looked at the robot, but he did nothing more. He sat up and stared into space. She waved her hand in front of him, but there was no reaction.

"Come take a look at this." Asami held the table between them as Korra read over her shoulder. The data on the hard disk was readable using the robot. "This is basically everything the robots know. They have an understanding of what the bat-faces are."

Korra furrowed her brows, scanning through the translated text.

_The Masters are members of the Afflicted. They are banished from their home planet to stop the spread of the Affliction. The Affliction eats at their organic matter. The Masters have replaced their lost organic matter with inorganic mechanisms._

_The Masters are the sole survivors of those who were banished._

_The Masters must seek revenge against the home planet._

_The Masters are dying._

It took a few moments for the information to sink in.

"They want the energy to destroy their own kind?" Korra whispered. She was somehow afraid that if she spoke too loud they would hear her.

"I... I think so." Asami couldn't stop reading the same line over and over again.

_The Masters are dying_.

It was so matter-of-fact. It felt like they hadn't understood the bat-faces at all thus far. But did that even change anything? Did that ever change the fact that they were destroying a planet? No. It couldn't. A tragic backstory didn't excuse anything.

She tried searching for more information, but it seemed like that was all the robots knew. It looked like the machines had never been on their home planet, and the bat-faces hadn't given them any data about it.

"Can we access their network this way?" Korra asked, and Asami remembered the original reason they were doing this. Her curiosity might have gotten the best of her.

"From what I see," she furrowed her brows as she navigated through the robot's mind, "all the bots are interconnected. They don't have their own brains as much as just one huge hive mind. That should be good news. The only thing we need to figure out is how we get administrator rights to modify it."

"Is there a password or something?"

Every command was restricted with a single message. _Machine ID not recognized._ "No." She let out a sigh. "We can't do anything unless we have their machines."

Korra threw her head back in frustration. "Why can't a super-advanced species just be easy to hack?"

Asami turned her attention back to the robot. She looked from him to his arms lying on the workbench. "There's one thing we could try," she said. "But it's risky and if it doesn't work we lose our only access to their network."

"We might as well try. What use is it us anyway if we can't do anything with it."

"We could try and get our friend here to blend in and do the dirty work for us."

They stared at the robot's blank gaze.

"Would that work?"

The engineered considered it for a moment. "Maybe. We could control him through the inhibitor I fitted but we'd have to be close to him. I disabled his data transmission so we'd need to be in close range for this work." She turned to Korra. "I didn't want the bat-faces to pick up his signal."

"So we'd need to sneak in with him."

"Pretty much."

The Commander rubbed her face. "God, that's not what I want to hear."

"It's risky, I know." She sighed. "We should keep thinking. There's got to be a better way."

"No. We could do it."

They looked at each other. The plan was sketchy but it was the best thing they had.

"I guess we better give him his arms back then." Asami put the tablet down and picked up one of the arms, studying the makeshift joint. She frowned. The material was surrounded by undulating waves of light. She shook her head and looked again. They were still there. "Do you see this?"

Korra looked over. "What?"

She tilted the arm towards her. The concentric circles around the broken shoulder shifted smoothly through the air, as though they were orbiting the material. "You can't see this?"

The Commander looked from Asami to the robot's arm. There was nothing there. "See what?"

The engineer dropped the metal onto the workbench and rubbed her eyes. Finally, the lights were gone when she reopened them. "I swear there was..." She realized how stupid it would have sounded. "I don't know. I'm probably tired."

"Should I get you a coffee?"

Asami tried to understand it. She was sure she saw something. "Only if you want one for yourself too," she replied.

Korra jumped up at the opportunity to be useful and headed down into the kitchen, leaving the engineer to wrestle with her own head. She picked the arm up, twisting and turning it in the light. No matter what she did she couldn't get the circles to come back. And they weren't just circles. They had waved through the air, following the ridges and imperfections of the arm's joint. She dreaded to think that Shyku's way of showing her the function could have just made her go crazy.

She tried to shove her thoughts aside for a moment and focused back on the task at hand. Grabbing her blowtorch and welding goggles, she went ahead and started joining the arm back onto the robot's body. The metal joined back nicely, and she made sure the welding was thin and discrete. She moved on to the next arm, fixing it back on too. She lifted her goggles and admired her work. The robot was whole again. She focused on his shoulders, trying to figure out if the work was noticeable, but she couldn't see it from a few feet back. It would be fine.

"Room service," Korra called out as she walked back in, two mugs in her hands.

Asami chuckled and took one. "Thank you."

"The robot looks nice." She sat back down at the edge of the workbench, looking the unresponsive bot up and down.

"Hopefully he'll pass."

"Looks good to me." She turned her gaze to the worried engineer. Even as she sipped her coffee she looked troubled. "Are you _sure_ you're ok?"

"Does it sound bad if I tell you I keep seeing things?"

Korra sniggered. "...No?"

Asami rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you be concerned if your only engineer is losing her mind?"

"Can't lose what you never had."

She put her cup on the table and grabbed a handful of small bolts from the toolbox, throwing them at the Avatar.

"Wait! No!" She put her own mug away to safety, sinking further into her seat. "I was joking!" She chuckled and shielded herself with her hand.

She stopped as she finished the bolts. "Let's hear an apology."

Korra put her hand down cautiously before smirking. "I'm sorry... that you're going crazy."

"Wrong answer." She picked up a hefty hammer.

"WAIT!" The Commander nearly fell off her stool. "I TAKE IT BACK!"

Asami laughed, putting the tool down. "You don't want to fight me in here."

"No kidding." She steadied herself again and picked her mug back up. Then, she got serious again. "For real though, what's wrong?"

The engineer looked at the robot. He was staring emptily into space, unresponsive, but she felt weird talking in front of him anyway. She grabbed the tablet and powered him down, his head drooping onto his chest.

"I keep seeing these lights. I know what it sounds like, but they're... there."

Korra raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"On things. In things. Around things." She looked at the robot's shoulders again. "They're not random either. It's like they're deliberate, like..." She didn't know how to explain it.

"Can you see them now?"

"No. And anyway, usually I could just make them disappear by looking away."

"Do they bother you?"

"Well, they wouldn't if I knew I wasn't crazy."

"You're not crazy." Korra reached out and rubbed Asami's arm. "This is probably the least weird thing that's happened since we landed." She tried to reassure her.

"I suppose so." She looked down at the Commander's hand as she pulled it away. Her eyes widened, realizing that her hand too was now covered in the little lights. This time they seemed to be coursing through her veins. "Holy shit." She took her hand in hers to have a closer look.

Korra stared as Asami studied her hand. This was kind of weird, and it felt too much like they were holding hands. Her heart sped up.

The lights running underneath her skin were evenly spread throughout, except for her fingernails, where they appeared more concentrated. She turned her hand over, noticing the cuts on her fingers from Kotharu's net. The lights gathered tightly around the edges of the broken skin. What on Earth could they be?

Eventually, the lights started to fade and she couldn't see them anymore. She let go and Korra took her hand back.

"Sorry," she said. "It's just... They're on you too."

"It's fine." How did Asami have such soft skin anyway? In all seriousness though, she wanted to help her, but she had no idea what she was talking about.

They were interrupted by a desperate knocking outside. Fearing the worst, they rushed to the ship's doors. Shyku was banging on the entrance. They gasped for air as the door slid open.

"The... The..." They tried to say. Kytherans were definitely not built to run.

"Slow down, bud," Korra said. "What's wrong?" Sweat dripped down her temple.

Shyku panted. "They're taking the heart."


	12. Chapter 12

"The heart? How?!" Korra panicked.

Shyku shook their head. "I don't know. But they're nearly through. Your kind are trying to stop them! Please! Help us!" This wasn't a usual robot horde patrolling the caves. The Kytheran was shaking in fear. Something terrible was happening.

The Commander turned to Asami but she didn't need to say anything. The engineer already thought ahead.

"You go with Mako and Bolin," she said. "I'll take the robot and try to power them all down."

"Asami you can't go alone-"

"Shyku, round anyone you can and get to safety."

Without needing to be told twice, the Kytheran sprinted down the desert.

Korra tried to think of something, but they had no choice. Asami's plan was their best hope. How on Earth could they have found a way into the heart?

"Asami, be careful-"

"Don't think about me. Run. Now." She turned to rush inside to fetch the robot, but Korra grabbed her collar.

"Wait," she spoke as fast as she could, holding Asami in place for one more moment. Her heart was pounding and she had no idea what awaited both of them. Her thoughts raced but she wasn't really thinking. "If I don't see you again, I-" She didn't bring herself to finish her sentence. "Be careful," she said one more time before running off towards the mines.

The engineer froze for a split second but had to regain herself immediately. Her heart skipped a beat but she dashed into the ship for the robot nonetheless. Her adrenaline soared and she only hoped he could run as fast as her.

She booted him up with the tablet, entering command prompts as quickly as she could. His head looked up at her as she finished typing. When the engineer sprinted out of the room, the robot was programmed to follow her.

* * *

Korra stumbled out of the elevator. Even from there, she could hear the metallic clanking and the sound of the brothers' bending. She was glad to see that the Kytherans got away at least. She sprinted to the other side of the lake, following the sounds as the light from the blue-bells was fading, until she reached the cacophony of the fighting.

The horde of robots was lit up by their own shining eyes. The blue-bell lantern hung off of Bolin's belt as he and Mako were backing away, surrounded by the machines. They were panting and sweating, looking for a way out desperately.

Korra had no time to think. She levitated herself and smashed down in the midst of them, sending a fury of air slashes into them, dispersing the crowd away from the brothers.

"Korra's here!" Bolin yelled over the chaos.

She stood up from the crater she formed in the ground, breathing hard. The robots were regathering themselves.

The three of them stood their ground. They were able to push the robots back with flailing rocks and a wall of fire from Mako, but it seemed like once they got rid of some, more came in.

"How can they get to the heart?" Korra shouted.

"I don't know!" Bolin yelled back. "There's a special robot with them somewhere!"

The Avatar frowned. She kicked a group of robots away with a gust of wind and she searched their ranks for whatever Bolin was talking about. She spotted him. There was something different about him, standing at the back of robot lines. His neck was patched with a material of a different color, but that was all she could notice before she shifted her attention back to the robots attacking them.

"Mako! Bolin!" She said. "We've got to get rid of that one!" She crushed another bot with a boulder.

The brothers noticed the odd robot too. He was the one that got the horde this far.

"They're protecting him!" Mako replied. "We've tried already!"

"We've got to do more."

She tried to think of something desperately. The robots may have been resistant to fire, but if there was one thing electricity didn't mix with it was water.

"Bolin! Cover for me!"

The earthbender stood next to her and zoned the bots away as she focused on finding the water beneath them. She struggled against the ground, trying to lift as much as she could. The soil cracked, and the liquid seeped out. She gathered it above her head, panting, before eyeing the horde of robots. She weaved the water from right to left across them, sweeping them away and shortcircuiting them.

"Mako - get him!" She yelled.

The odd robot was exposed, his front line of bots now gone. He backed away, and more swarmed from behind him but it was too late. The fire bender let out a fury of fire kicks to stop his reinforcements in their tracks and Bolin raised a wall of thick soil to separate them.

Korra was certain they had him. There was nowhere for him to go and the rest of his team was stuck behind.

Without warning, the robot phased through Bolin's wall and disappeared.

"What?" The Commander froze. Things started making sense.

The rest of the robots had nearly broken through the wall, breaking it apart with their saws and energy guns. Although the blue soil was resistant, it wouldn't stand much longer. They needed a plan, fast.

Just in that moment, she looked over at Mako. Her heart dropped as she realized he had been bleeding out of his side all along.

"Bolin! Help Mako to safety!" She yelled.

"No, Korra! I can make it." His uniform was covered in a thick splodge of red at his waist. There was too much blood.

Bolin seemed to have only just noticed his brother's injury too, and as the cracks in the wall widened, he hurried to grab his brother out of the way, forcing him to come with him.

"Wrap something around him! Stop the bleeding!" She called after them, turning her attention back to the robots. They had started to break their way through.

She was breathing rapidly, and she could feel her heart thumping in her ears. Her one hope was Asami right now.

* * *

The heat was unbearable by this point, but she couldn't think about it. She could see the domes in the distance and she had to somehow stay out of sight. Where could there possibly be to hide in a desert?

The robot had kept up with her well, but the true test was yet to begin.

Without even knowing what was going on down in the mines she could already tell something wasn't right. There were much fewer robots roaming their compound. A blessing and a curse.

She approached from the East, making sure her robot was following close behind. His clanking was making a lot of noise, but he only blended in with everyone else and muffled her own footsteps.

The engineer crouched behind one of the domes. They all looked the same. How was she supposed to know which one was the right one? She swore to herself, looking around the compound. All the robots congregated around the warehouse. They were busy with something. They wouldn't be paying much attention.

She looked down at her tablet and typed in the next set of commands. The robot scanned the compound and walked around the side of the dome. Asami stayed hidden while he took a look inside. He came back to her. This wasn't the right dome.

With a sigh, she checked left and right before sneaking to the next one, crouching as she went and pressing herself against the wall to stay hidden. She sent the robot in, but he came back again. Another wrong one. She dreaded having to sneak to the next one, coming closer and closer to the warehouse, but she had no choice. She hoped she could stay out of their line of sight.

This time, the robot went to check the dome and didn't come back. That was the one. And the bat-faces were inside.

She couldn't see what he was seeing, but she entered the next set of commands. If all went well, the robot should be freaking out right now.

It seemed counterintuitive at first, but it was her best bet. Just as she had planned, the bat-faces wouldn't deal with it themselves. They called on a couple of bots to take him away, and sure enough, two robots were walking over from the warehouse. She waited until they got close enough, hidden around the side of the dome before pouncing, striking one of them with her electric glove, watching as the lightning bounced from one to the other and they both collapsed.

The bat-faces would have no doubt heard the metal thuds. She took cover again, ready to input her next command for her robot.

She spotted the two bat-faces coming out of the dome, looking down at the dead bots on the ground. That's when she entered the next line of code, watching as her robot walked out with them. She wasn't going to hurt the bat-faces, but the robot attacked them just enough for them to need to retaliate. They panicked at being hit by one of their own, and it won't be long before they call for the rest of the robots.

Asami had very little time. She snuck round into the dome as the bat-faces focused on defending themselves and weren't paying attention. She scrunched her nose at the terrible smell of the fruit hanging on the walls and rushed over to their desks.

Administrator rights were within her grasp.

"You have returned."

She gasped and spun around.

Of course.

There were three bat-faces, not just two.

The creature stood up and walked over to her slowly. "It is a shame that you have chosen this path."

Asami had no choice anymore. She had to fight it.

She threw a kick towards it, but the creature braced. Asami's foot hit the metal casing around its torso and it felt no pain. She wasn't discouraged. Metal was a good conductor. She swung her glove towards it, but it grabbed her arm in its tracks, holding her tightly. Its mechanical limbs were too strong.

"I truly am sorry you chose this," it said.

"We know about you now. About what happened to your people. You're sick. We can help you too."

Its face contorted in anger. "We don't need your pity."

"It's not pity. It's what we do. We help those who need it." She took a few breaths to steady herself. The creature's grip on her wrist was tight. "Destroying your planet isn't going to cure you."

The bat-face squinted. "You don't know anything about us."

"You're dying."

Her heart thumped in desperation. As blood rushed to her head she could see those same lights again, this time in the bat-face. They shone brightly through the whole creature, brighter on whatever was left of their organic selves. Whatever they were, the side of their hip shone the brightest and she wondered what that meant.

She didn't know whether she was getting through to the creature, but she didn't care anymore. What she said had got it thinking enough that it let its guard down for a moment, and she jerked her knee up into its hip, hitting the patch of bright light.

The bat-face screamed in pain, nearly keeling over.

Asami was able to free her hand, and without thinking zapped the creature across the chest. The electricity coursed through it and it collapsed. She froze for a moment, fearing that she had killed it, but she had to pull herself out of it. She turned her attention back to their computer.

The sound of distant clanking made her palms sweat.

She struggled through the interface, trying to understand the commands. She searched frantically.

The metal marching was coming closer. She could sense them right outside the dome.

_Come on... come on..._

She managed to get onto their machine code and scrolled endlessly through the commands. Her eyes darted across the screen as new information popped up, heart hammering in her chest, and sweat trickling down her forehead.

The doors to the dome were thrown open. The bots made their way over to her, and behind them, the two bat-faces followed.

She swore under her breath. Just as she was sure she was done for, she found something that looked promising. She was convinced that was the right command.

Something grabbed her leg and jerked her away from the computer. She fought to stay upright, seeing that the bat-face she fought had come to. It snarled and clawed at her knee. She was just one button press away, but her shoulders were violently tugged back. The robots had reached her.

"No!" She screamed, writhing against their grips, her fingertips ghosting over the keys as they grabbed her hands away. She was no match for their mechanical strength. Not like this.

In one last desperate attempt, she grunted and spun her body around, taking them by surprise and slamming her back against the keyboard.

She could only hope she managed to hit enter.

* * *

The robots burst through the wall. Korra tried endlessly to hold them back, throwing all she had at them, but they kept coming.

Her temples dripped with sweat and her body was burning. As much as she tried, she was running out of steam and the bots kept advancing. She gathered her last strength to launch a chunk of the wall at them. She got one, maybe two. It was no use.

She panted, her lungs stinging. In what felt like her last moments, towering above her fear was the suffocating regret. She had no idea what happened to Asami, and would the engineer ever know what happened to her?

The Avatar closed her eyes, exhausted. In another reality, perhaps things would have been different between them.

Nothing happened.

She frowned, daring to open her eyes.

She held her breath.

The bots had all collapsed.

* * *

Kuvira stopped focusing on the production line for a few seconds. She noticed a group of robots marching out of the warehouse out of the corner of her eye. There was a sense of urgency about it. Something strange was happening.

After they sent out so many troops they were definitely up to something and she hated herself for not being able to do anything. She glanced to the side at the bot still monitoring her. He hadn't taken his eyes off her, making sure she kept working and never touched that damned device.

She turned her attention back to the aluminum parts on the conveyor belt before he said something again. Did he have any idea how fast she would kill him if only they wouldn't have resorted to controlling her? She wondered what the thing in her neck was. They knew she controlled her body through her spine, they had even said they hacked into their ship. She hadn't known they could do that. Perhaps she had been wrong about a lot of things.

There was a loud thud. She dared to look. The robot monitoring her fell to the floor. She frowned and looked around her - the other bots had also collapsed.

"Shit," she whispered to herself. She snapped out of her initial shock and thought fast. She needed to get that device out before she could do anything else.

Without worrying about the consequences, she reached up and grabbed onto the box. She tugged on it and it stung, the pain radiating through her whole back, but the device was stuck. There was only one thing left to do, and she only prayed it wouldn't damage her nerves.

In one swift motion, she yanked suddenly on the box, pulling it as much as she could in her weakened state. She grunted, her mind clouding with pain. The box dropped to the ground and her vision started to blur but she pulled herself together. She felt blood running down her back.

It took a few seconds, but she was able to move freely again.

She let out the breath she was holding. All she had to do now was make a run for it.

Then she caught sight of the metal cage. The Kytheran watched her attentively. She couldn't leave yet.

She hurried over to them, trying hard to remember the code with all the adrenaline.

357

The keypad beeped and she threw the door open. The Kytheran limped out as they regained their own mobility after being locked up so long. They hurried out of the warehouse, looking left and right to check if the coast was clear. Whatever robots had been left at the compound had all collapsed.

"Let's get a truck," Kuvira said to the Kytheran. They couldn't understand her, but she spoke her thoughts out of habit.

They ran along the domes to the nearest vehicle, but just as Kuvira was about to sit in the driver's seat she spotted something outside one of the domes. Three dead robots, not like the others. Two with scorch marks, one with dented and crushed bodywork. Something wasn't right.

"Stay here," she said. The Kytheran looked at her with a blank expression. "You. Here." She pointed to them and to the seat. "Or whatever." She sighed and rushed out.

* * *

Asami panted, feeling the grip against her shoulders relax and fall away. She watched as the robots dropped to the ground before her. The command ran after all.

Her sigh of relief was interrupted by the bat-face struggling to get up, using her to steady itself and digging its fingers into her. She heard its guttural snarl and ducked her head just in time as it lashed out with its fist.

"You..." it growled.

The engineer looked into its seething eyes. Behind her, she heard the other two bat-faces approaching. She thought fast and elbowed the one next to her, knocking it off-balance, its body still weak from the electric shock. She dashed away from the desk, trying to see if she could make a run for it, but the other two blocked her way immediately.

She readied her glove, but she was surrounded. The bat-face lunged at her and she sidestepped, but before she could electrocute it, the other had grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back. She kicked behind her and the creature wobbled, but there were too many. The other bat-face punched her across the face, hitting her square in the jaw. The dull pain resonated in her skull and before she knew it the last bat-face slid her glove off her hand, tossing it across the room.

That was it, but it couldn't matter. She turned the bots off. She only hoped Korra and the brothers were safe.

"Now I think you wish you joined us when you had the chance," the bat-face spoke right into her ear. "You must see how foolish you have been."

Asami tried to say something, but her jaw was burning as she tried to open her mouth. "N-no," she managed to mumble.

That didn't please the creatures and they squeezed her arms tighter together behind her back. Her shoulder blades stung, but she took the pain silently.

"You've only delayed our plans, human. Your sacrifice has been in vain."

She looked at the creatures. She wanted to do something, to say something, but there was nothing she could do to save herself. All she could do was see those same lights coursing through their veins, gathering tightly together, in ways she couldn't understand the meaning of. Now she wondered if she ever would.

"Your organs would be very useful to us. If they are compatible with ours. If not, then... they'll just go to waste."

They grinned but before Asami could react, she watched wide-eyed as the bat-face talking was raised up into the air, struggling against their own body. It grunted, trying to claw at itself, before being thrown across the room. The other two turned but it was too late. They too were shoved out of the way.

Kuvira walked up, gasping for breath for a few seconds. "Must be nice to have the metal bender back on the team, huh?" she said.

Asami let out a sigh of relief. She never thought she'd be glad to see her.

The bat-faces struggled to get up, but Kuvira had it covered. Unlike the robots, there was no electrical field in their bodies, and she could bend their metal parts unhindered. She threw them against the wall, one by one. With her spare hand, she lifted a chunk of ground up and walked closer. The bat-faces were so close to becoming a smoothie.

"Wait!" Asami called out, struggling to talk, but ignoring the pain in her jaw. "No. Trusht me." She looked at the metalbender's raging expression. "Pleashe."

Kuvira couldn't believe the engineer. She would have been dead without her, and now she wanted to spare the creatures? It was insane, but she let out a sigh of defeat and dropped the boulder. There was obviously so much she didn't know. Instead, she clasped their hands and feet together tightly with metal bindings.

She heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see the Kytheran had followed her in.

She rolled her eyes. "I told you to wait back at the truck!"

"Kotharu!" Asami exclaimed. She walked up to the creature. "Are you ok?" The Kytheran said something and the engineer let out a sigh of relief.

This was crazy. She could talk to them? And she knew their name?

How much had Kuvira missed?


	13. Chapter 13

Korra hurried to check on Mako, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. Finally, she saw Bolin rushing back.

"How is he?"

Bolin took a moment to catch his breath. "The Kytherans are looking after him." He stopped and looked at all the dead robots around Korra. "You... you killed all these?"

"No, of course not. Asami did it." The realization was dawning on her that the engineer was successful. "She used their own machines."

Bolin's eyes widened. "Asami is in their base?"

Korra gulped. "Yes. And we need to get there immediately." She hurried out of the mines, the earthbender trying to keep up. She was desperate to know if she made it out alright.

They took the elevator up and run outside. The heat hit them suddenly, but Korra wasn't going to slow down if it wasn't for the sound of the engine in the distance. She braced for the worst, but her heart leaped out of her chest seeing Kuvira and Asami behind the windscreen.

"Holy shit, she did it," she whispered.

"Woo!" Bolin yelled, running up to the truck as they came to a stop. "You guys are back!"

The two of them stepped out of the vehicle, and coming out of the back seat was none other than Kotharu. Korra couldn't believe it. They really did it.

"Now, I know what you're gonna say," Kuvira started. "I was wrong. I know."

Korra didn't even care anymore. All she wanted to do was hug Asami, so she did. She ran up to her and flung her arms around her.

"Your plan worked," Korra said.

"Mmhmm."

She pulled away. "What happened to the bat-faces?"

Asami tried to speak. "Tied. Compound."

Korra realized something was wrong, but before she could ask, Kuvira answered it for her.

"She got a nasty blow to the face. Jaw's probably fucked. And we tied the bats up nicely so they'll stay there for... whatever reason. I would have killed them."

The Avatar nodded. She couldn't think ahead right now. Her thoughts were racing too fast, but she figured it was a good thing the bat-faces were still alive.

"I'll try and heal that back at the ship," she told Asami.

"Kuvira?" Bolin said. "What happened to your back?" He had finally noticed the blood splodges running down from her neck.

"Long fucking story." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I can't thank you enough," Kotharu said. They addressed everyone, including Kuvira. "The inorganics were close to destroying our way of life. We owe you everything."

"You don't owe us anything. Are you alright?" Korra asked.

Kotharu didn't reply straight away. "Yes, I will be fine. I will tend to the others. Your kin may use our infirmary - we will share supplies with you."

The city of clay was a short walk away and they followed Kotharu through the streets. They were exhausted, and seeing the empty paths wasn't reassuring, but it seemed the Kytherans were all cooped inside, prepared for the worst. The plaza looked strange empty, but the patterns painted onto the ground were fully visible. It was a beautiful rendition of their solar system, with the binary stars in the middle, and the 14 planets dotted in concentric orbits. The fifth was the small, reddish-brown planet they called Kythera.

Kotharu took them across the plaza and into a large clay building. The inside was lined with rows of beds and shelves of supplies, and a Kytheran weaved through, tending to the few creatures that were injured. When the robots attacked, they must have been caught in the crossfire. Sitting up on a bed in the far corner was Mako, shirtless, and his waist wrapped with bandages. A bit of blood seeped through the white cloth.

"What do your kind need to heal your biology?" Kotharu asked.

"Do you have any water you can spare?" Korra asked.

"Of course."

The crew sat besides Mako while Kotharu went to fetch a bowl of water. The firebender lit up, realizing that seeing the crew meant they had won. He looked very pale though.

"You guys did it!" He exclaimed.

"We all did it," Korra said, taking the bowl from Kotharu and thanking them. She looked after Asami first, focusing hard and trying to relax enough to be able to heal her jaw. She had never been great at it. The act of healing was too calm for her to understand, but whatever she did manage to do was better than nothing. Soon, the engineer could at least talk without the pain.

"Thank you," she said.

"It's fine." She had so much to say to Asami after the robots had struck the fear of God in her, but they needed a moment alone. She looked over at Kuvira, her uniform now covered with dry blood around her neck. "Do you need some healing?" she asked her.

The Flight Lieutenant looked at the bowl of water for a second. Finally, she shook her head. "No. I'll be fine." The pain in her back was still burning, but she stood up. "I'll take a walk. I was cooped up in that warehouse too long." And with that, she left, not looking anyone in the eye.

Korra was ready to slap her. After all this time this was everything she had to say to them? They hauled ass to help the Kytherans while she played with the robots and all she could do was avoid them. She took a deep breath to calm down. They defeated the robots and that's all that mattered. She looked over at Asami. They not only won, but they were safe too.

"I'm fine too," Mako said. "The bleeding stopped now."

Bolin nudged his brother. "Mako! You should have seen! The robots just all dropped! Like this - bleugh!" He tilted his head and stuck his tongue out, pretending to be dead. "Asami shut them all off!"

The firebender chuckled. "That's amazing."

Asami smiled, but the truth was she was still shaken up. All she could do was picture the ugly snarling of the bat-faces. At least it was over and they were tied away in their own warehouse.

While Bolin went ahead and helped Mako change his bandage, Korra worked up her courage. There was no point in hesitating anymore. Something very real happened and she was reminded that life is painfully short. She turned to Asami. The engineer was massaging her jaw. "Do you want some fresh air?" she asked.

Asami looked up at her. The Avatar averted her gaze. "Sure."

The brothers didn't notice as they slipped away. They walked out into the empty plaza, the afternoon heat making the air seem to shake near the ground. The streets were still deserted and the city was silent.

"I'm really glad you're ok," Korra said as they walked.

"I'm glad you're alright too. I was so afraid for a moment that I wouldn't be able to disable the robots," she sighed. "And I nearly didn't."

"But you did. And you made it out and that's all that matters." They walked across the open ground, eyeing the beautiful carvings. "But..." She stopped and turned towards Asami. "I..." She gulped. "I thought I was going to die." The engineer's eyes widened. "Just for a moment. Just before the robots collapsed. I was nearly done for."

Asami nodded. "I get it. I thought that too. Right before Kuvira came for me I thought the bat-faces would kill me too." Those moments flashed before her eyes. The desperation of dying without being ready was agonizing.

"Life is dumb," Korra said. She wasn't sure where she was going with that. "It's like... we're so afraid to lose it but we're also so afraid to live it."

Asami smiled. She was right. She wondered where they would all be without fear. Would it be better? Or worse?

"What I'm trying to say is-" she took a deep breath. Her hands were clammy and she could hear her pulse in her ears. "If I actually would have died I would have had this one huge regret and it bothered me more than death." She looked up at Asami, meeting her bright green eyes. Her throat had gone dry and she paused. She had no idea how to say what she wanted but the engineer looked at her expectantly. "I just regretted... I just regretted not telling you." Her chest tightened and she didn't go any further.

Asami tilted her head. The Avatar was blushing and she avoided her gaze now. Her own heart was thumping, but she didn't want to hope Korra was trying to say what she wished she would say. "Tell me what?"

Words evaded her. There was nothing her brain could come up with that would save her right now. Her thoughts were frozen in time. In that moment, she realized that maybe life was not just about fear, but about courage too. The courage to cross a road, to fall asleep, to fly into space and defeat a robot horde.

In a heartbeat, she cupped Asami's face and pressed her lips onto hers.

Life was a constant battle between fear and courage. All for the sake of a coin flip.

She felt the engineer freeze and then relax. Her hands reached around the back of Korra's head and she kissed her back. It was a wonderful feeling.

When they pulled away, they stared into each other's eyes for a few moments. It was difficult to register what happened. The soft feel of Asami's lips still ghosted in Korra's mind and she wished she could freeze time forever.

"Is... Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Asami whispered.

Korra nodded faintly.

The engineer smiled with so much relief. After everything, this was the last thing she expected, but her heart leaped with joy. She didn't want Korra to see her tearing up, so she leaned in and kissed her again, trying to hold in her smile. Sure, the Commander was sweaty and her lips tasted a little salty but she didn't care. For a moment, her worries melted and she forgot they were stranded on a strange planet.

"So I take it you..." Korra said as they pulled away again. She didn't even really know what she was asking.

Asami understood though. "Yeah."

The Commander smiled too now. There was no better feeling than throwing the dice and getting the six.

"Well..." she said, sliding her hands down to Asami's shoulders. "Can't say I expected that."

The engineer chuckled. She hadn't either. As much as she wanted to stay out there, she remembered there was still much to do, and they would have all the time in the world afterward. "Should we head back and help Mako?" she asked. She hadn't stopped smiling.

Korra nodded. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

* * *

Kuvira kicked at the ground, watching the dust disperse from under her boot. She had gotten herself slightly lost in the midst of the clay buildings. They all looked the same and the narrow roads seemed to weave through them randomly. Her back stung as she walked.

There was a gap in the buildings and she wondered whether she was getting to the plaza again. Had she gone round in a circle? She had no idea. She lost track of directions a while ago.

She stepped out into the clearing, freezing as she realized she heard voices. She was supposed to be avoiding the crew, not running into them. She paused and peeked out from the alleyway, eyes widening. Asami and Korra kissed? It was real and happening. Kuvira couldn't help but smile. Even after teasing the Commander so much she never thought she was actually into the engineer. A love story, in the middle of all this? What were the chances?

Slowly, she realized this was actually an HR disaster in disguise. Without a doubt, Asami would get transferred to a different space fleet when they got back if the word were to get out. Or if they ever made it back. But the two of them probably knew that.

She shrugged it off and waited for them to walk away before making her way back.

* * *

Kotharu met Korra and Asami as they walked back into the infirmary.

"Our kind will go down into the mines and clear out the inorganics. We were wondering if your kin would like to investigate them with us. We would like to find out how they got there."

Asami nearly jumped at the opportunity. She had been wondering this since it started. "Of course."

Korra looked over at the brothers. Mako had lost a lot of blood so it was best he stayed to rest, and Bolin was keeping him good company. "I'll help you clean up their bodies," she said.

"Wonderful. Thank you."

As they headed out, they saw Kuvira walking back. The Flight Lieutenant initially avoided their gazes but curiosity got the better of her. "What's going on?"

There was an uneasiness between them, and quite rightfully so.

"We're cleaning out the mines."

She thought for a moment. Of course. That's where the robots had been sent on their final mission. "I'll help you."

It was shocking to hear her say it, but truthfully it should have been expected of her.

They walked through the city and down underground. Kuvira had never used their elevator and she was surprised it held all of them and a few other Kytherans. She stared at the strange lanterns the creatures used and at the number of tools they carried. She had severely underestimated them.

Coming down to the bottom, she held her breath. A large, hideous beast awaited them and she took up a fighting stance, before noticing that nobody else was paying attention. She expected the beast to pounce, but it didn't. The Kytheran rubbed its wrinkly head and the creature let out a low, gurgling sound. Its back was loaded up with open-topped crates and it followed them as they walked. Was it their friend?

As they made their way further through the caves, the Flight Lieutenant nearly gasped when she saw the beautiful scenery that she never knew existed. Such lush flora and the large, glistening waterfall was the last thing she expected to see.

"Woah," she whispered.

"This is what your friends would have wanted to destroy," Korra said bitterly.

Kuvira had nothing to say to that. She carried on walking.

They walked through the dark tunnels, following the light of the lanterns and finally coming closer to the heart. The floor here was littered with robots.

She watched as the Kytheran leading them talked to the others. Shortly, the other creatures got to work loading robot bodies up onto the beast. Korra helped them, and she figured she better start doing the same. There were so many, no wonder productions at the warehouse never stopped.

Asami was pulled away by Kotharu.

"I wanted to show you the problem." They led her further, stepping around the dead machines. "Your kin have told me they were able to phase through the heart as I have done." They finally brought her to a robot collapsed at the back of the pile. The bots had stood around him to protect him. "This must be the one they talked about."

Asami knelt down, studying the strange material around his neck. "What is this?"

Kotharu knelt down next to her. "The inorganics realized they needed native tissue to interact with our planet. They used my skin to do it."

The engineer's eyes widened. "What?"

The Kytheran lifted up their shirt to reveal a large scar across their abdomen. "They knew. It was why they captured me." They let the cloth fall back again.

"Shit, Kotharu. I'm so sorry."

"No. You should not be. You have saved us."

Asami sighed looking into their eyes. They were so sincere. "If there's anything else we can do you have to let us know."

They shook their head. "The planet will heal, and we're already cleaning it up. Your kin must have planned well for your attack. I know how much you detest probabilities."

"Well..." the engineer chuckled. It was so far from the truth. "No. We didn't have time to plan. We acted on the first thing we thought of."

The Kytheran tilted their head. "How so? I had the impression your kind must be certain of their choices and rules. You have told me this before I was taken."

This was another one of those conversations, but this time Asami felt like she understood a little more what she wanted to say. "I didn't realize it myself at the time, Kotharu. I made it seem like we know what we're doing but we don't." She glanced at Korra in the distance. She was busy loading up the robots onto the back of the creature. "We go against the rules we made for ourselves all the time. Humans don't do certainty because we can't afford to. All we can do is hope and take the wildest chances."

Kotharu nodded. "That is very interesting." They touched the ground, drawing mindless patterns into the soil. "Unlike us, your life is very fragile. You do not have a heart to return to when you die and you will be lost forever."

"And maybe that's what makes us so unpredictable."

"Perhaps."

In that moment, Asami saw the lights again, but this time she could see them in everyone and everything. They coursed through Kotharu's veins, bright and concentrated, and even in her own hands as she looked down. This was a long shot, but she had to try.

"Do you see what I see?" she asked.

Kotharu looked at her confused. "What?"

"These lights. They're everywhere. In everyone."

The Kytheran took a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Of course I do."

"What are they?"

"You do not know? Your kind has not studied them?"

"We've never been able to see them. I only saw them after Shyku like... entered my brain or something." She felt slightly embarrassed at not being able to describe what happened, but she still didn't understand it.

"That is peculiar. It must mean Shyku's entanglement is letting you see the fourth dimension."

Asami focused on the lights more. They never stood still, and there wasn't a single thing that was spared from them.

Kotharu carried on. "They are time." They held up their hand against hers. "The fourth dimension has always been time."

She tried to take that in. "That doesn't make sense. Why are some things brighter? Time passes equally everywhere."

"To say that is to oversimplify time. See," they showed her their arm where they had been cut by the net. The wound was closing, and its edges were brighter than the rest of their body. "For this piece of tissue, the passing of time is an urgent necessity. To heal, it must age, and once time is done with it, it will be healthy, yet weaker than that around it. Time is harsher on what attempts to heal, but without it, it would never be whole again."

Asami didn't see how that meant time was more concentrated around certain things. Kotharu must have noticed she wasn't understanding.

"You view time as a universal clock." They paused as the human nodded. "But think of it more like a resource. It is demanded and used by matter so it may change state."

"Are you telling me that... we age by choice?"

Kotharu chuckled. "Perhaps not you personally. But the matter you are made from does. The universe is not bound in place and its mass is restless. It demands time to fulfill its desire for chaos. Such is the law of entropy." They thought for a moment. "Like humans, no?"

Asami was taken aback. "Yeah... like humans."

Seeing time... in some way that opened up a world of opportunities, but how would she ever know how? It's not like there were books or articles written about this. She was the only human who could see it. In a way, she was both excited and disappointed.

"You mustn't worry. Now that we know you can see it, Shyku will teach you." They stood up. "I simply do not know more."

Hearing that, Asami regained her spirits. "Thank you." She didn't want to make fixing the ship a second priority, but who would pass up on the opportunity to understand literal time.

Korra walked over and picked up one of the remaining robots. Just like that, Asami noticed that most of the floor had been cleared while her and Kotharu talked.

"Having fun?" the Commander asked.

"Sorry. Did you need a hand?"

Korra chuckled. "We had it, it's fine." She threw the bot over her shoulder with a grunt. "We should go interrogate the bat-faces tomorrow."

Of course. Yet another thing left to do.

"Tomorrow? What time is it?" Asami said, dusting herself off as Korra loaded the last bot onto the creature.

"It is getting dark out," Kotharu said. "Your kin should rest in the night."

They walked back towards the others. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes. Our kind will stay behind and keep working on the caves." They looked around at the cracked walls and their missing chunks. Boulders that were torn off were scattered around them. "We will attempt to repair this so our planet's energy returns to normal."

Kuvira dusted her hands. "What did they say?"

"They'll fix what's broken in the caves."

The Flight Lieutenant nodded. "Can you tell them I can earth bend? I will help them do that."

Korra took her earpiece off and handed it to her. "Here you go. You can do it."

"Thanks."

She was nervous at first, wondering if the creatures even wanted to talk to her, but when she told them she wanted to stay they welcomed her help. She couldn't understand it. They must have known she left them for the bat-faces and yet didn't think twice about trusting her. It should have made her feel better, but it only made her feel more aware of her own guilt.

She said goodbye to Korra and Asami and got to work.


	14. Chapter 14

The walk back to the ship was quiet, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Tiredness was something they've become accustomed to now, but for once, nothing bad had happened that they had to worry about. It was pleasant tiredness, like after a hard day of work.

The cold mist of disinfectant felt refreshing against their skin.

"Mako? Bolin?" Korra called out as they stepped into the corridor. She thought the brothers might have walked back from the infirmary, but there was no answer. It was likely they chose to spend the night there for Mako's sake.

"Seems it's just us."

"Yeah." She turned to Asami. The engineer seemed troubled by something.

"You know," she said. "the handbook does say crewmates aren't permitted to-"

Korra waved her hand dismissively. "What's anyone gonna do about it?"

"Well," she tried again. "If you read it, it does say. I would probably end up getting transferred. Or demoted. Depends on the evidence."

"You don't have anything to worry about. How will Iroh even know?"

Asami shrugged. "I don't know. I'm probably just paranoid." They walked down the corridor. They hadn't mentioned it, but they both had the idea to shower. After everything, God knew they needed it.

"You are. It's what you get for reading the damn handbook." She gave her a goofy smile and Asami couldn't help chuckling.

"Sometimes I wonder how you made it to Commander."

"Nothing but my charms and stunning good looks."

Asami pretended to ignore her and sighed. "Guess we'll never know."

"Hey!" She gave her a nudge with her elbow and pouted. "I have qualities."

They stepped into the shower room. The warm lights lit up as they walked in.

"I'm sure you do." Asami stopped and looked at Korra. She met the Avatar's eyes, smiling. She couldn't lie. Things were a little uncertain. Usually, she would have been wary, testing the waters, waiting, and getting close to her date. But the thing about getting stranded on a desert planet was that it was very easy for emotions to run wild.

"Of course I do, I'm only the best-" she was cut off as Asami kissed her. She was taken by surprise. It was still settling in for her that the engineer had felt the same way about her.

Asami deepened the kiss, and Korra didn't even realize how much she had backed up until she felt the wall tiles against her back. She melted further, wrapping her arms around the engineer as she pinned her against the wall. How Asami managed to have such soft lips even in the midst of a desert was a mystery to her.

She felt her hand tug at the bottom of her shirt. They were going to take a shower anyway, so she let her untuck it from under her belt. One by one, she undid the buttons, only breaking the kiss as she slid it off Korra, throwing it on the bench. She stole a glance down at the Avatar and couldn't help the smirk that spread on her lips. The Commander blushed deeply as the engineer ran her hands across her shoulders and onto her arms, leaning in for another kiss that trailed down her jawline to her neck. As she kissed her pulse, she felt Korra's breath hitch. She lingered on her skin for a moment before looking up.

"You ok?" she whispered.

Korra managed a faint nod, eyeing the shoulder straps of Asami's overalls. A little clumsily, she slowly slid them off.

The engineer got her green light and pulled her tank top over her head, throwing it to the side, not even paying attention anymore. Korra's cheeks burned looking down at Asami. She tried not to stare, but even with her bra still on, the Avatar couldn't help it. The engineer smiled and broke her gaze with another kiss, her fingertips trailing across Korra's arms, feeling the ridges of her muscles. All that space cadet training wasn't for nothing after all.

The Commander drove her hands up Asami's back, finding the strap to her bra and fiddling a bit, trying to undo it. She figured it out, and the elastic snapped loose. She pulled the garment off of her shoulders and Asami moved her arms out of it, letting it fall to the floor.

The engineer pulled away, tugging upwards on Korra's sports bra and lifting it off her.

"I thought you were concerned about the handbook," the Avatar said, a mischievous smile planted on her face.

"What are you talking about?" She watched as Asami's eyes made their way up slowly from her body back to her face. "This is just two crewmates having a shower."

Korra wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her closer, pressing their foreheads together. "Do you do this with all your Commanders?"

"Why? Do you do this with all your engineers?"

They chuckled softly, looking at each other through half-lidded eyes. One of Asami's hands had drifted away from Korra's waist and was undoing her belt buckle, before sliding it off. "Come in with me," she whispered.

Sliding out of their trousers and underwear, Korra followed Asami into the shower stall. She didn't think the engineer could be any more beautiful and her skin felt hot with nerves and anticipation. As the water ran down their bodies, Asami kissed her again while reaching behind her to grab the shower gel bottle off the shelf. She poured the soap into her hand and lathered Korra's back, the smell of lavender rising. Her hands slowly worked their way to the front, coming up her chest covered in soft, bubbly foam. She felt the Avatar gasp into their kiss as she caressed her breasts and smirked.

Korra felt Asami's lips leave hers, trailing down to her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. Her heartbeat quickened as the engineer kissed her sensitive skin, her hands moving lower and lower across her abdomen. The Commander held back a soft whimper at the feel of Asami's fingers.

Showering would take a little longer than they expected.

* * *

Kuvira wasn't used to being able to understand the Kytherans. It was strange to hear them talk and speak their language, especially since she didn't even know what to say to them. She had never been good at apologizing and avoided it like the plague her whole life until people demanded it from her. Now it was the opposite. These creatures weren't demanding a single thing from her, even seemingly ignoring what she had done, and in a twist of irony, she felt like she should make it up to them.

She had gathered a few names in the meantime. The elder was Kotharu, and he was the one telling her what to do and how. They kept talking about the energy of the planet, and something about its heart, but she didn't understand what they meant. All she knew was that the broken caves had to be rebuilt and she earthbended them back together.

Eventually, everything was back to where it should be, as much as they could anyway, and the job seemed to have been finished. She went to Kotharu one last time before leaving, just to make sure everything was alright.

"Thank you for your help," they said. "It would have taken us days without your abilities."

Kuvira shrugged. "It's the least I can do. Was there anything else?"

"No, that is all." The Kytheran was also ready to leave before they remembered something. "You wanted to talk to the inorganics, did you not?"

"Yeah. We'll do that tomorrow. I'm not sure what my crew wants from them. It would have been better to kill them and get it over with."

Kotharu tilted their head, almost confused by what she said but they didn't press for an explanation. "You mustn't worry. The inorganics don't have long to live anyway."

"What?"

"You do not know?"

Kuvira frowned, looking up at the Kytheran. "No?"

"Of course, you cannot see it, but I have noticed it. What is left of their organic selves is desperately running through time. Their bodies cannot heal from what is inside them, and I am afraid it does not seem like they would make it for long."

"They're sick?"

"It would appear so. I only wish they do not suffer."

Kuvira scoffed. "They tried to kill you."

"So I know what it means to be afraid. I know it well enough to not wish it on anyone else."

The Flight Lieutenant was at a loss for words. The logic behind that seemed so flawed to her. She couldn't imagine not wanting revenge, let alone wishing they would pass peacefully. Her knee jerk reaction to the Kytheran's words was ridicule, but she stopped herself immediately. She was trying to make it up to them, not make fun of them, but it was too late - they already noticed her expression.

"You do not think so?" they asked.

"Well..." she tried to phrase what she wanted to say. "Surely you want them to get what they deserve. They were bad people. They deserve a bad ending."

Kotharu seemed almost hurt by that. "Were you not also part of their ranks?"

Kuvira's heart dropped. "Yes... I was."

"Do you think you deserve a bad ending?"

She gulped. "But... I'm trying to make things right. I saved you, and I'm trying to help you rebuild your caves."

"And how will the inorganics get that same chance if you would have killed them?"

"Well... I..." She sighed. "You're right." She hesitated, trying to get the words out. "I'm sorry, Kotharu."

They shook their head. "You need not say it. Your actions spoke loud enough." The rest of the Kytherans were heading back to the surface, but as always, Kotharu planned to stay. "If you would like, I will give you a tour of the world you haven't yet seen."

Kuvira couldn't help smiling a little. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. You deserve to see it too." They started walking away, gesturing for her to follow them. "Come. It is very beautiful."

* * *

They came out of the shower wrapped up in towels, carrying their clothes out with them. Their skin was still warm from the water. The ship's lights had dulled, imitating the night sky outside. They followed the small line of speckles that lined the corridor to guide them back to their rooms, side by side, cheeks still flushed.

"Korra?" Asami whispered as they were about to part. The Avatar looked up at her. "Would you... like to stay with me tonight?" she asked, quietly, afraid of whether Kuvira or the brothers had come back while they were showering.

The Avatar smiled and nodded. To hell with every rule.

Their beds weren't exactly double sized, but they were still just about big enough for the two of them. They slid under the covers, getting comfortable against each other's bodies.

"I'm glad it's you I'm stranded here with," Asami said as Korra slid her arm around her. She could just about make out her eyes in the darkness as they looked at each other.

"Me too." She smiled and kissed the engineer's forehead. "Goodnight, Asami."

"Goodnight, Korra."

The bed had never felt as comfortable as it did now.

* * *

All she could do was feel the sharp, burning sensation of the bat-face's fingers clawing at her. She could barely even make out the screen and the list of commands and had never managed to hit enter. Her body was pulled away from the keyboard, and everywhere they grabbed her, her skin stung. She screamed but no noise came out.

She woke up with a gasp. She was back at the ship in the dark.

Everything was fine.

She reached out across the bed for Korra but didn't feel anything. Looking up, she saw her sitting on the edge of the bed. She turned towards her.

"You ok, Asami?" she asked, taking her hand in hers.

The engineer frowned. "Just a bad dream. Were you up?"

Korra nodded. "Yeah. Bad dream too."

"You can wake me up next time." She sat up next to her. "You don't have to sit on your own."

The Commander wrapped her arm around Asami's waist and pulled her close, letting the engineer's head rest on her shoulder. "You've got your own nightmares to deal with." She rubbed her thumb against her bare skin.

Asami nuzzled into the crook her neck. "Doesn't matter. We'll be fine if we get through it together."

"Yeah." She placed a kiss on the top of her head. "We'll find a way out of here. And then I'll show you around Air Temple Island."

"And you'll teach me to airbend too." She smiled and closed her eyes.

The Avatar chuckled. "Yeah. Meeko will definitely want to show you." She thought back to the young boy. He was a promising space cadet, but he goofed around a lot. He also thought he was suave with the ladies.

She looked back at Asami. The engineer was taking slow, deep breaths against her shoulder. Korra realized she had fallen asleep, so she held her steady and slowly lowered themselves back down into bed. She slid a lock of hair out of Asami's face as she felt her own eyelids grow heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, sorry this chapter took so long, especially since it's short and pretty much nothing happens. Writing fluff is just hard (for me, at least) :D Stuff will pick up again next chapter, I just thought this was a nice break from the action


	15. Chapter 15

Kuvira was the first down in the common room for breakfast. She sat at the table on her own, chewing on the dry cereal bar. She came back to the ship very late last night, after having been walking around the underground with Kotharu. Images of the beautiful scenery still flashed before her eyes. They should have calmed her enough to sleep, but the truth was she barely even closed her eyes when she slipped into bed.

She heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

Sure enough, Korra and Asami walked in, dressed and ready to face the bat-faces, no doubt.

"You're back," Korra said, grabbing herself a cereal bar from the cupboard. "How are the caves?"

"We rebuilt everything," she replied.

"That's good to hear." Asami sat down, opposite her, tearing her wrapper open. The conversation came to an abrupt stop.

Kuvira wanted to scream. This was stupid. They were all avoiding each other's gazes. She got it - she made a huge mistake and it nearly went very very bad for them, and sure the Commander and the engineer were fucking, but this was too painful to endure, even for her. And she's had a literal paralyzing device in her spine.

"I was a dick," she said suddenly, cutting the silence wide open.

Korra and Asami looked at her.

"Kotharu showed me everything down there. It was beautiful. And I didn't know they were going to destroy it." She couldn't believe it was the second time she was saying this. "I'm sorry."

They looked at the Lieutenant for a few more moments, trying to register what just happened.

Asami was the first to reply. "The bat-faces were good manipulators, you couldn't have known. At least you're back now."

Korra nodded. "We're still a team, Kuv. We've got your back." After all those times she was so angry at Kuvira for leaving, she started to forgive her. Maybe it was the fact that she genuinely seemed to sound sorry in what she said, or maybe the fact that she was so eager to fix her mistakes.

"Thank you," she said.

"We're going to try and interrogate them. See what's going on with their species." Korra said. Her cereal bar was gone in two hearty bites. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

Were it not for what Kotharu said, Kuvira would have wanted to come simply for the sake of kicking their teeth in. Now, although she still felt the same anger at them, she was open to hearing them talk.

"I'll come."

"Great. We'll pick up Mako and Bolin on the way."

* * *

The bat-faces' truck was still on the outskirts of the city where they had left it, and after picking the brothers up from the infirmary, Kuvira hopped into the driver's seat and drove them to the compound. Mako was feeling better, despite his skin still looking pale. If they would have been back on Earth, they would have had blood transfusions for him, but out here his body had to deal with it itself.

As they sat together in the backseat, Asami focused on trying to see the fourth dimension again. She could see Mako's bones through him, having lit up with the production of new red blood cells in the marrow. His sternum was brightest, but she didn't stare any longer. The firebender wouldn't have known what she was actually looking at. She was just happy she understood what they meant. In organic bodies, the light indicated injury or healing, or aging. She wondered what she could see in inorganic bodies.

The domes appeared on the horizon and they approached them quickly. Kuvira parked outside the warehouse where they had taken the bat-faces. She led the crew inside, taking them to the spot where they had tied them up. The creatures were bound around the central pillar of the surrounding machines and conveyor belts.

Asami could already tell their health was deteriorating faster than they thought.

"What does it feel like, huh?" Kuvira said, bending down and grabbing one of their jaws, forcing the creature to look up at her. The mercy she pretended to understand earlier had gone out the window, and her rage seethed inside her again. "D'you like not being able to move? Is it pleasant?" She squeezed its jaw and the bat-face snarled through gritted teeth. Her skin burned with resentment for what they did to her spine. The pain hadn't dulled.

"Kuvira!" Korra pulled the Lieutenant back. "Get a hold of yourself."

She straightened her back and took a deep breath. She immediately regretted her outburst but she felt like she couldn't have helped it. Either way, she kept quiet.

The Commander turned back towards the bat-faces. She wasn't sure which one of them to address so she spoke generally to see who would respond. "Where are you from?"

They ignored her.

She cleared her throat. "Where are you from?"

The bat-faces stared at the ground like nothing was happening.

Korra was losing her patience so she looked to Asami. Maybe she had something.

The engineer kneeled next to the creatures. She could see time coursing through their bodies so quickly, though she wasn't even sure whether the word "quickly" was right. "I told you we know you're dying," she said finally. They didn't respond, but she didn't expect them to. "You wanted to kill your own people, didn't you? Because they outcast you for being sick."

They still said nothing, but one of them let their emotions show and snarled. At least her words weren't falling on deaf ears.

"So your kind is still alive? They survived your plague?"

There was a pause, but she waited patiently. Finally, one of the bat-faces answered her. "Barely," they half spoke, half growled. Their voice was low and guttural. "They can't get rid of the disease. There's no cure, and it spreads fast."

"Which is your planet?"

They hesitated. There was no escaping the questioning, and the engineer had reminded them their days were numbered. There was no point in trying anymore. "Atkova. The planet is Atkova."

Asami had never heard of it. Turning towards the others she saw that neither had they. "Where is it?"

"24 light-years away." They took a deep breath. "You cannot help us. And you shouldn't. Our kind abandoned their own people to preserve themselves and they're still dying." They shifted against the bindings, anger building inside them. "They deserve to die."

The engineer couldn't say she didn't expect this sort of response. "Mako, check their systems. See if they have any data on it."

The firebender nodded and left to check out the computer controlling the warehouse machines, seeing if he could access the database from here. In seeing this, the bat-faces struggled against their metal cuffs.

"Don't!" One yelled. "They must die!"

Just as they said that, one of the creatures started choking. They coughed endlessly and Asami could see the bright passing of time through them. Eventually, a clear liquid gargled out of their mouth, before quickly evaporating in the heat. The crew crinkled their noses at the pungent smell of ammonia.

"Are... are you alright?" Bolin asked, holding his shirt over his nose.

The bat-face didn't answer but they stopped coughing. They breathed heavily.

"You don't have a lot of time left," Asami said. "It may be too late for you but it's not too late for the rest of your kind. For once don't you want to do something good?"

She chose her words poorly. "You have _no_ idea!" The bat-face closer to her screamed. "You don't know who we were! What we did! We did everything for our kind. We worked endlessly, and for what? _For what?!_ "

They waited for them to calm down, meeting their wrathful eyes. It was obvious now that the one talking was the healthier of the three.

"Does it really matter?" Korra said. "Does it matter who you were if what you are now is a monster?" She was trying hard not to let her own rage take over. "Have you seen what you were doing to this planet? What you would have done to the Kytherans? How is that any different than what your kind did to you?"

Hearing that, they fell silent.

"I've got it!" Mako called out. "I found the coordinates."

Korra looked back at the Atkovans. "It doesn't matter anymore. We won't let any species die out."

They noted the coordinates down. If they ever made if off Kythera, they would inform Iroh of this emergency as soon as they could. Before they left, they took one last look at the bat-faces. None of them were talking to them anymore. Perhaps there was no changing their mind after all.

As they walked out, a croaky voice called out to them. "Wait." The crew turned around, seeing one of the Atkovans struggle to keep their head up to look at them. "Please," They said, as another fit of coughs came from the one beside them, a cacophony of gargles and choking. "Kill us."

The five of them stood still, shocked by the request. The creature's glassy eyes stared at them, waiting for a response.

"What?" Korra said.

The Atkovan took a deep breath before trying to speak again. "We have failed and we will die. Kill us."

Asami knew they were right. She could see how close they must be to dying and she searched her brain for a way they could save them. "There must be a way to cure you."

The bat-face's lips drooled with the same volatile liquid, its smell stinging their nostrils. "If there was, we wouldn't be here." They spat across from them. "It's not a normal disease it's..." They drew a deep breath in, their throat croaking as they did. "Please. You have everything you need from us already."

The crew looked at each other. There was no way for them to find a cure for something they knew nothing about so fast. Perhaps they really didn't have a choice.

The Atkovans writhed against their bindings. It was obvious they were in pain.

Korra gulped, looking at the others in a silent vote. "Ok," she finally said.

* * *

"Bolin and I can plan a course to Atkova," Mako said on the way back. "Is there a way to fix the ship?"

Though he didn't specifically look at her, Asami knew who the question was aimed at. She felt somewhat guilty that she hadn't focused on that a little more, but between disabling the robots and seeing the fourth dimension, it had been the least of her worries. "I..." she tried to think of at least something she could try, but there was no way to repair a fusion reactor out here. "I'll see what I can do."

The firebender nodded. "Then soon we might get back into transmission range and let Iroh know about this."

Yes. Soon.

Her thoughts drifted back to her newfound power. Kotharu had promised that Shyku will help her. "Can you drop me off in the city?" she said to Kuvira. "There's something I need."

"I need to see Kotharu one last time too," Korra said. "Per regulations. So I can mark the mission as complete." In her whole time as a Commander there hadn't been a single mission that she hadn't been able to submit a successful report on. She was glad this wasn't the one to break the streak.

The Flight Lieutenant didn't question it. Before she drove off, she handed Korra's earpiece back to her.

"So," Korra said, turning towards Asami. Around them, Kytherans were filling the streets up again. "Meet back at the plaza when we're done?" There was no need for that, but she hoped the engineer would want to walk back together when they're finished.

Asami nodded. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"Me?" she chuckled. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I need to find Shyku. They know what these lights I'm seeing are. I think they might be..." she held back her laugh, realizing how weird this would sound to Korra. "They might be time."

The Commander stared at her for a few moments. "Time?"

"The fourth dimension."

That didn't clear it up for her. "Well... ok. You have fun... with that."

"I will." She checked that the crew had driven out of sight before placing a kiss on the Avatar's cheek.

Korra blushed. "Heh... ok... see ya... later..." She rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly backing away.

The engineer shook her head and chuckled before heading off herself. The all-powerful Avatar and the Commander of the SS Raava space fleet, and she couldn't hold herself together after one little kiss. Astounding work.

Asami found Shyku after asking the merchants that had drifted back into the plaza. The stalls were slowly filling up with wares again as they walked rhino creatures in and out, bringing more goods with them. The city would soon go back to the way it always was.

The mathematician was cooped up in his clay apartment, slouching over inscriptions on clay tablets. The Kytherans didn't have doors, so she knocked on the door frame before coming in.

They looked up, seemingly shocked by the noise. "Oh," they said. "What is it?"

Asami took a few cautious steps inside. "When you let me see the zeta function something must have happened."

The Kytheran suddenly looked concerned. "Is there something wrong with your cognitive functions?"

"No. I can see the fourth dimension now."

A smile slowly spread across Shyku's face. "Incredible." They couldn't hold back their chuckle. "I have done many things over the course of the equinoxes, human, but this is the first to surprise me."

"Will you teach me how to use it? What it means?"

The mathematician stood up at once. "Come. We have much to show you."

* * *

Kotharu was coming up from the caves, having finished his nightly rounds. Korra walked up to them as they walked back into the city.

"Hello," they said. "How did things go with the inorganics?"

"Not too well. They refused to give us any information about their planet and their species. They didn't want to help them since they were outcast by them for this disease they have. Even though they... Well..." She wanted to leave out the fact that they couldn't make it, but Kotharu seemed to understand. 

The Kytheran nodded. "It is strange to me, but understandable. Anger is a powerful feeling that trumps all logic."

"Tell me about it." She knew that well enough on Earth. "We got their coordinates though. We may be able to help them after all, if we're ever able to repair the ship." She threw that thought to the back of her mind. "But what I wanted to ask you is how are your people doing? We still have aid supplies back at the ship that we can give you."

Kotharu shook their head. "There is no need. We have always had every means to thrive. The inorganics were our only problem, and we thank you dearly for that you've done."

"That's alright." She walked alongside them through the plaza. She never realized how much she loved the atmosphere of all the trading going on. The Kytherans had no currency - they took what they needed and gave what they could to help each other. It was a tightknit community. She would miss it when they leave.

"How are the reparations on your ship going?"

"Well, we don't think there's a way to fix the engine." Asami had never fully voiced her concerns. She probably didn't want to panic everyone, but Korra had realized she was more worried about it then she let on. "We have a fusion reactor and there's no way to get it going again. We lost all the hydrogen when we crashed."

"I see." Kotharu went silent for a few moments, deep in thought. "I have considered this." They stopped walking and turned towards the Commander, pulling something out of their satchel. When they unclasped their fist, they showed her the gems they held in their hand. "There is nothing we can do to provide you with fusion power. This is the only source of energy we have to give you. We can only hope it will help you get back home."

Korra's eyed widened. "Kotharu... no... We can't take those from you. They're where your planet's life comes from... there's no way."

Kotharu insisted. "There would have been no life if you wouldn't have saved us. Parting with a small amount of ourselves for you is not a difficult decision. It is not even a sacrifice. It is a must." They took Korra's hand and placed the gems in her open palm. "You must take them. It is the only way."

The Commander stared at the glowing red stones. Her heart thumped in her chest and she didn't know what to say.

"We only have one single request," Kotharu added. "Your kind must not know of our planet. We must do our best to keep our existence a secret, lest we have this happen again."

Korra considered what this meant, trying to think of how she could pull that off. She would have to mark the mission as failed, and on top of that lie to Iroh and say there was never a planet here in the first place, and the message they received was a fluke, or that they had deciphered the wrong coordinates. What she was considering was treason, a serious and dishonorable crime. If found out, she would never be able to work in the space force again - all her dreams and plans going to ruin. Her answer was simple.

"Of course." The peaceful lives of this amazing society were more valuable than her career. "No one will know Kythera exists."

Kotharu was relieved. "Thank you. If there's anything else you need, please let us know."

She nodded and let them go back to their duties. She took a deep breath and looked down at the gems in her hand.

* * *

Shyku had finished setting up the experiment before looking back at Asami. In front of them, on the clay table, lay vials of liquids, a spirit burner, and a metal nail that they meant to demonstrate their theories with, along with a small stick of quartz. They picked up one of the round glass tubes, showing her a bright blue solution, followed by another test tube half full with water.

"A copper sulfate solution and plain water are good examples of this." He poured the blue mixture into the water. "They are miscible compounds." He held the test tube up. As expected, the two solutions mixed together, and the bright blue color was diluted, becoming increasingly pale. "The law of entropy states order tends towards disorder, so the two mixtures must become one. But what governs the direction entropy follows other than time?"

They were right. As the mixtures mixed, Asami could see the bright lights flowing through the liquids.

"Entropy flows one way - from order to disorder - and time is its vessel. Now, because you are able to see it, you must also be able to interact with it. Observe." Shyku picked up the quartz. "This piece was quartz has had a current through it previously. Quartz is known for its piezoelectric effect, but its abilities go beyond ultrasound-" they run the quartz along the side of the tube. Asami could see the lights shifting with the crystal, and shockingly the mixtures separated again. "And can influence the waves of time too."

The engineer stared wide-eyed at the split mixture, blue on top and clear water on the bottom. When Shyku removed the crystal, the mixtures mixed again.

"I... I don't understand." People on Earth worked with quartz all the time. If this was possible they would have surely found it by now. "Why would this never work for me before?"

Shyku placed a bung onto the test tube before setting it back onto the table. They picked up their clay tablet and etched a crude drawing of a Kytheran into it with their finger. "This creature is two dimensional," they said. "In their realm of existence, they may only move left or right on the tablet. If something stood above or below them, they may never touch it." The Kytheran picked up one of the spare corks from the test tubes and held it above the tablet to prove their point. "The drawing will never see or affect this. But watch," they brought the tablet up into the bung, making it crash onto the clay. "Now they have. It took a three-dimensional force to let a two-dimensional being interact with an object existing in the third dimension. Now think about us. When I connected with you, I have unknowingly made you four-dimensional like myself. You may now see and understand the fourth dimension which is time, and therefore you may be that which forces three-dimensional beings to interact with it differently than normal."

Asami heart rate quickened. Could she control time? Is that what they were saying?

"Can I... turn back time?"

Shyku chuckled. "That would be a crude understanding of the quantum realm. Think of it more like you can change the direction of the flow of entropy. Although I have forced the mixtures to separate again, they are not where they were when they started. I have only reversed entropy, a mere function of time."

The engineer gulped. There was a lot to wrap her head around and she wasn't sure whether she could do it.

"Here," the Kytheran gave her the test tube and quartz. "Try it."

She looked at the pale blue mixture and took a deep breath. Carefully she slid the quarts up the glass vial. She saw time move with it, and the mixture did indeed separate. She could do it after all.

Shyku seemed just as happy. "You really are four-dimensional. It is true." They took the equipment from her and picked up the nail. "Now I will demonstrate this with the second law of thermodynamics. Do you know this?"

"Entropy always increases, never decreases." She considered the nail and the spirit burner that the Kytheran was setting up. "So energy always flows from hot to cold."

"Yes." They had started to heat up the nail over the tiny flame. The metal soon started to glow faintly, and with their spare hand, they pulled the beaker of water closer. "This is what is meant to happen." They submersed the nail in the water. Of course, the water hissed and steamed as the nail cooled. "Energy flows from the hot nail, to the cold water." They started heating the nail up again and Asami could tell something different was coming. This time, as the nail became hot enough they held the quartz crystal near the beaker of water. The bright lights seemed to stand still, and when they submersed the nail they slid the quartz across the beaker, controlling the flow of the lights. In a complete defiance of logic, the nail glowed hotter and hotter, and the water surrounding it froze solid. To drive home their point, the Kytheran lifted the block of ice from the beaker, keeping the quartz next to it, to show it to Asami. "Now, from cold to hot."

The engineer couldn't believe it. It took everything she had in her not to shake her head and try desperately to wake up from whatever dream this was. "It's... incredible," she said finally.

The Kytheran dropped their things back down. "It is a short introduction, but most probably all we have time for. I can only hope they will be of use to you back on your home planet."

It was already more than Asami would have ever expected. "I don't know how to thank you enough. There... there's so many things this could do..."

Shyku smiled. "I'm sure there is." They started packing away their things. "I am glad I was able to give you something permanently, as opposed to just letting you see the zeta function once."

Asami was glad too. Though she was starting to forget what the function looked like, her ability to see time was only getting stronger. 

In that moment, she realized they might have had a chance to save the Atkovans if she would have known this sooner. Her heart dropped. Could she have helped them? "Shyku," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Could this have been used to cure the ba- the inorganics?" She braced herself for their answer. 

The mathematician looked at her solemnly. They understood from her use of past tense that the creatures had already died. "I have seen the inorganics before, and I do not believe so. Their disease was... something not even I could understand."

Asami nodded. She could only hope they weren't just saying it to ease her guilt, but it seemed like the Kytherans were always honest. "Thank you, Shyku. For everything."

"You need not thank me, human. Does your species use names for yourselves?"

She nodded. "I'm Asami."

"Then it was my pleasure to work with you, Asami." They smiled. "As much as I would love to explore all of my theories with you, I wish your kind can return home soon. You must miss it."

She nodded. She did indeed miss it, but learning from the Kytheran about time had taken her mind off it. 

Speaking of time, she probably shouldn't leave Korra waiting for her.


	16. Chapter 16

Korra couldn't stop looking at the gems, thinking about everything. They had a way to leave the planet, finally, but getting back to Earth meant problems. With the amount of paperwork and the ship maintenance, it seemed almost impossible to keep their existence a secret. Finding these gems in the hull of the ship would no doubt expose their lies, and then what?

"Hey."

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Asami's voice. She looked up and smiled as the engineer walked up to her.

"You alright?" she asked.

Korra nodded. "Kotharu gave me these." She showed her the gems in her hand. "As a power source for the ship."

The engineer raised her brows. "Wow. Are they sure?"

"Yeah."

She was shocked, knowing how much this meant for the Kytherans. Even so, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. She just needed to find a way to hook the gems up to the ship's engine - as for the rest of the reparations, she had an idea. "Ready to head back? We can fill each other in on the way."

Korra looked out at the plaza one last time before saying yes.

As they walked, Asami told her about what Shyku showed her, trying to explain it all again. Korra attempted to follow, but she didn't study engineering and had no idea what entropy or thermodynamics were. Either way, she nodded along. Secretly, she loved the look Asami got in her eyes when she was explaining something to her. She was lost in whatever she was trying to say, gesturing with her hands like that would help Korra see what she was seeing, a look of utmost concentration on her face.

"So that's why they let me have this before I left," she pulled out a stick of quartz from her pocket. The bright sun reflected off its polished sides. "I mean, I always knew quarts had strange physical properties but this was unexpected."

She put it back in her pocket, her explanation coming to an end.

"Woah," Korra said. Things processed for a little while. "You can bend time now?"

"I... I hadn't thought about it like that."

The Commander smiled. "You're a bender too now. A sciencey one."

Asami chuckled. "Well... I suppose I am."

As they walked, Korra worked up her courage and slid her hand into the engineer's. It may have been hot, and their palms were clammy, but she had wanted to do this for a while now so she didn't care. Asami didn't seem to mind either, giving her hand a little squeeze.

"So," Korra said. "Doesn't that mean you can time travel now?"

"No." She tried to think of how to put this. "Kotharu said time was a resource, not a universal clock."

Korra immediately thought that made no sense.

"That means matter uses time to change state, and the way time flows affects how the change works, like the direction of entropy, but we're still always moving forwards. That's my understanding anyway."

"Oh. Ok. Cool." Whatever the hell was entropy?

As the ship came into view on the horizon, they let go of each other's hands.

* * *

Coming back onto the ship, Korra gathered everyone round in the common room. The announcement was important.

"We have a way to get back home," she layed the gems out across the table. "But there's a catch. We can't let anyone know about the Kytherans, or that Kythera even exists."

Kuvira scoffed. "That's impossible."

"We need to try." Korra sighed. The Lieutenant wasn't wrong. "We need our story to be the same for when we fill out each of our reports. I need everyone to listen carefully so every detail is the same. We also need a cover for your medical examinations." She looked across to Mako and Kuvira. Their scars were a dead giveaway.

"We have to lie?" Bolin asked. "But what if they find out and fire us?"

"You know I don't have money to pay my rent otherwise," Mako said.

Kuvira chimed in too. "And do I look like I know to do anything else other than this?"

The Commander gulped. She couldn't think of anything to say. If they weren't willing to take the same risk she was then there was no point.

"The Kytherans are a peaceful species guarding a huge, potential weapon," Asami said. "If you don't care about their wellbeing after they've cared for yours, then you must care about what would happen to the universe if something like that fell in the wrong hands. And God knows it nearly did." She took a deep breath. She hadn't expected the crew to be resistant to this. "The Kytherans helped us, taught us things about ourselves and the universe, and the only thing they want in return is for us to fake one shitty report."

Silence fell across the table.

Kuvira was the first to break it. "They did forgive me. For absolutely no reason. So sure, I'll lie for them. Fuck it."

Mako and Bolin started nodding too. "Me too," the firebender said.

"And me."

Korra smiled. "So it's agreed. Now let's go over our story."

They spent the next hour or so coming up with ideas. It was tough, but in the end they came to a solution.

Korra wrote it all down and read it out one last time. "The signal must have gotten dispersed through the asteroid belt, and we calculated the wrong coordinates. Kythera was never there, but in trying to cross through the asteroids our ship was damaged and we were stranded on a deserted dwarf planet. Asami fixed the ship and we set off again as soon as we could. We calculated that the real coordinates must have been the ones of Atkova, which remember we're calling Kythera now for the sake of the report, 24 light-years off from our original estimate. While on the dwarf planet Kuvira and Mako were caught out in a meteor shower while scavenging for pieces of heavy metals on the surface for the ship. That would explain your injuries. And it also gives us an excuse to head to Atkova next." She turned to Asami. "And you, of course, can't see time. Not that they would ever ask about that."

The engineer nodded. "I'll also delete any traces of the algorithm we used to decipher the Atkovan hard disk." Her heart broke at knowing they would never be able to use prime numbers like that again, but there was no way they could have had a mathematical epiphany on a deserted dwarf planet. She wouldn't risk backing it up anywhere in secret, and with her fading memory of the zeta function, it really would be lost forever.

"That settles it then," Korra said. There was a sense of melancholy going around the crew. They were going home, but everything they've done would never exist in humanity's records. Even so, they would never forget the Kytherans.

Still, they hadn't figured out a way to hide the ship's new power source.

* * *

Asami spent the rest of the day working on the ship. It wasn't so bad. Hooking the gems up to their systems and thrusters was a learning curve, but it was nice to have Korra keep her company, even if she was chewing loudly on a cereal bar as she handled fragile electronics. She had had to strip the wires and re-cover them in a thicker, better insulator to handle the amount of current the gems were outputting, but in the end, the engine was powered again. The system diagnostic came back perfect. She had left the empty shell of the fusion reactor in place after what Korra had told her. If the ship did go in for maintenance, they had a better chance of hiding the truth if the old infrastructure was still there. She instead welded a sealed box of tungsten around the gems underneath the reactor. The tungsten's hardiness and high melting point should keep them safe.

She dropped the latch shut as she came out of the floor. Korra sat cross-legged looking at her while she worked.

"Alright, engine's hooked up," Asami said, dusting her trousers off and wiping the sweat off her face with the back of her glove.

"You made a pact with him, didn't you?"

She frowned. "What?"

"The Devil." She smirked as Asami looked increasingly confused. "So you could look beautiful doing anything."

She grabbed a spare piece of wire and threw it in Korra's direction. "That was terrible."

The Avatar chuckled, especially since she saw her blush faintly.

"Right, time to fix the cockpit now," she said, standing up and picking her toolbox up. This was the more difficult part. The glass within the windscreen was shattered and it was difficult to see out of it. It would have usually meant they needed a replacement, which they didn't have, but she had a better idea. "This might work, or it might make me look very stupid," she added, heading down the corridor.

Korra had no idea what she meant as she followed her, stuffing the wrapper of her long-gone cereal bar in her pocket. When they got to the cockpit, she helped Asami climb up onto the control panels, stepping on the dashboard, careful not to break something with her boots. She patted the windscreen a few times, making sure it hadn't become brittle in the crash. The polymer withstood, even as she hit it harder. It was only the reinforcement glass inside it that had shattered.

The Avatar raised her brows as Asami pulled out the quartz crystal from her pocket, holding it up to the screen.

"Am I gonna see you time bend?"

"Hopefully."

She focused hard on the waves of time and controlled them with the quartz just like Shyku had shown her. If her understanding of the law of entropy was correct, with the forward flow of time the shards will never become more ordered, only more disordered, so if she could reverse it then... nothing happened.

She sighed. What was she doing wrong?

What was the difference between the shards of glass and the molecules in Shyku's copper sulfate and water solutions?

She tapped the polymer again. The glass shards shifted into a messy pattern.

"Fuck's sake, obviously." She mentally slapped herself. Matter needed both time and energy to change state - of course the shards weren't doing anything. The solid blocks didn't have the same internal energy as the molecules in the liquids. "Could you pass me a hammer, please?" She looked down at Korra.

The Avatar was just pleased she knew what a hammer was, and handed it to her from the toolbox.

"Thank you." She looked back at the windscreen. Putting the quartz up to it again, she banged the polymer loudly with the hammer. For a split second, the shards shifted towards each other, fitting into each other's grooves and cuts. A tiny patch of the windscreen was now slightly less damaged. She looked out at the rest. At this rate, this would take a while.

Korra stood on her tiptoes to try and see what was happening. By Asami's reaction, she could tell it was good, but she couldn't see the change in the shards from down there. "Did you do it?"

"Sort of." Though they slotted together like pieces of a puzzle, there were still lines visible at their edges. The kinetic energy of the hammer wasn't right to get them to fuse together again. The thermal energy from her blowtorch would probably be more fitting, but she could worry about that after she slotted them all together.

It was also difficult to handle the quartz and hammer at the same time. Luckily, she had another idea as she hopped off the dashboard.

* * *

The rest of the crew were still gathered around the table, writing up their reports. It was better to have them done now, ready to hand in when Iroh requested them. That and they could also make sure Bolin didn't mess his up. Even though he was getting used to the template they used every time, now they were worried he won't pay attention to the details they made up.

"Remember Bolin, there was a meteor shower."

"Yeah yeah." The earthbender typed away.

Before long, Korra joined them too.

"How's Asami doing?" Mako asked.

"Good. She figured out a way to fix pretty much everything," she answered, sitting down with them and grabbing her own tablet. She hated writing reports. "Now she's gone to make something and she only has one welding helmet so I couldn't watch."

Kuvira scoffed. "She told you to fuck off?"

"Hey! Not in those words!" Korra pouted. Asami was looking out for her. She thinks.

"I'm kidding," the Lieutenant added, seeing the flash of doubt on the Commander's face.

Korra felt better, but then she realized. Since when did Kuvira say that? She had no remorse teasing the hell out of her before, especially when it came to her thinking she liked Asami. Except she did like Asami. And they were sort of together now? Hard to tell. They were stranded on a strange planet after all.

As she booted up her tablet, the penny dropped. Kuvira might know. She looked back at the her but her attention was back on the report.

Shit.

She really hoped she hadn't figured it out.

"Hey, so in the meteor shower how would you say you felt?" Bolin asked.

Mako sighed. "Bolin, it doesn't matter. We're not writing about our feelings."

"But I want it to be an interesting read!"

The firebender rolled his eyes. "Scared," he said.

"No, that's boring and expected." Bolin typed something before smiling, pleased with himself. "I'll say you were feeling viscerally timorous."

"I... I don't even know what that means." Whatever it was, he didn't press further.

It was nearly night by the time they finished their writing, so they headed back to their quarters. Mako and Bolin were the first to finish so they were already gone when Korra pulled Kuvira aside by her dorm.

She didn't know how to subtly get the information out of her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Are you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just... you said you were joking earlier. You don't usually care, so I was wondering if something's wrong."

"I went against your orders and joined the evil side. Shouldn't I be careful with how I treat you now?"

Her tone of voice wasn't convincing. She was bluffing out of something else. "I just don't what you to think that joke affected me. That's all."

"Good. I didn't want it to."

She was about to head into her room when Korra said something else.

"Why?" she regretted it, but she had to go through with it now. "Why would you think it would affect me? It's not like you haven't done it before or anything..." she trailed off, stammering.

Kuvira tried to hold in her chuckle. "You're right. It's no different now, is it?" She couldn't help smiling here.

Korra gulped. "Why would it be?"

That was enough playing. "Listen, if I wanted to tell Iroh anything I would have written it into the report already, and I haven't."

That took Korra by surprise. She was hoping she was being paranoid, but it seemed like Kuvira really did know.

"Kuvira, I-"

"Relax. Why would I want to say anything anyway?"

Korra's thoughts were racing. Of course she would want to say anything. She had known Kuvira long enough to know what her end goal had always been. "Don't lie. I know you want to be promoted to Commander. Getting rid of me would be the easiest way to do that."

The Lieutenant flinched. There was some bitterness in Korra's words that maybe she hadn't meant, but it resonated all the same. "If I were to deserve a rank, it would be by earning it, not stealing it," she replied. Her tone had gone cold. "I couldn't care less who you fuck. You're not the most important thing on everyone's minds."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Kuvira sighed. "You said we had each other's backs."

"Yes, but I just didn't know if-"

"If I was a bad person."

Her statement stabbed the air between them.

It couldn't be further from what Korra had meant, but she couldn't think of anything to correct herself with. She really didn't know what she could say and her stammering gave Kuvira the wrong impression again.

"Goodnight, Korra." Without another word she walked into her room and shut the door.

The Commander was left staring as she gathered herself. She knew she had fucked up.

She was still standing there where she heard footsteps.

"Hey," Asami whispered, careful not to wake anyone up.

"Hi." She hoped for some good news at least.

"The ship is fixed. Finally." She held up her gloved hand, showing her the quartz core in the middle of her palm. "With the help of this. Now both my gloves are special," she chuckled and Korra couldn't help smiling too. So this was what Asami had been making while she sent her away.

"So do you think we'll be ready to leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think so." She took her glove off to let her hand breathe after all the work. "We still haven't figured out how to stop them from examining the ship but there must be a way." Her expression turned sad. "I'll really miss this place."

Korra nodded. "Me too." But it didn't have to be over yet, and she was dying to get away for a little bit. "Do you want to come with me to the caves? One last time."

Asami smiled again. "Of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly done :D


	17. Chapter 17

Being back in the caves for the last time felt different. The sound of the water hitting the lake and the ripples flowing all around it, touching the edges as tiny waves felt more special now. They stood quietly on the shore, among the strange sunflowers and colorful shrubbery.

Korra slid her arm around Asami's waist. She understood what she was saying back at the ship now. She'll miss this place too. As beautiful as things were back on Earth, there was something so ethereally different about this kind of beauty. Untouched and serene, with something tremendously powerful at its core.

"Of all planets I've been too, this is my favorite," Asami said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Me too I think." Her thoughts were drawn from the scenery to their plans to protect them. She worried whether their reports were good enough, but most of all about the ship's power source. "Asami?"

"Hmm?"

She looked at the engineer. As beautiful as the scenery was, there was something just as magical about the woman standing next to her. Maybe people looked most like the planet they were from in their past life. Korra held in a chuckle. That was a silly thought, but what other explanation did she have?

"Nevermind." She didn't want to ruin the moment by worrying about something.

Asami turned towards her.

"What was it?" she smiled, resting her hands on her shoulders.

Korra pulled her closer by her waist. "We can talk about it later." Her heart sped up at how close they were.

"If you say so," she leaned in, her face only inches from Korra's. The Commander's blue eyes glistened in the faint light of the bell-flowers. The colors matched almost perfectly.

"It wasn't that important." Nothing really was right now, she only wished she could make this moment last forever. It was a shame Asami's time-bending didn't work like that. Instead, she settled for closing the gap between them, kissing the engineer softly. Maybe time really did stand still. 

They were interrupted by a rustle behind them. They turned to see Kotharu kneeling down by a bush of flowers further up the lake's banks.

Asami chuckled. They must have been doing their nightly rounds. She wondered whether they didn't notice them, or just pretended not to.

"I suppose this is the time to say goodbye?" Korra said to her.

She nodded. They pulled away from each other's arms as they walked over to the Kytheran, stepping over the plants along the shore so they didn't disturb them. Hearing their footsteps, Kotharu looked up from their work.

"Hello," they said, sprinkling more of the fine powder for the roots before standing up. "I did not expect to see you here."

"We couldn't leave without coming down one last time," Korra said.

"I see." They folded up the bag of powder and placed it in their satchel. "Did the reparations on your ship go well?"

"Yes, they did," Asami said. "All thanks to what Shyku showed me, and to the gems you shared with us. We can't thank you enough."

Kotharu smiled. "We're glad they were helpful." They looked from Korra to Asami. Though it was difficult to read Kytheran emotions, it seemed like they were sad themselves to see them go. "Tell me, if you will, what is your planet like? Kytherans have never been anywhere. We have never seen other worlds."

Korra and Asami looked at each other, trying to decide where to start.

"Well, we have a lot of different climates," Korra started. "Like I'm from the Southern Water Tribe where it's cold, and it snows a lot, but Asami is from the Fire Nation where it's hot and tropical."

The Kytheran tilted their head. "Snow?"

Korra smiled. "Frozen water."

"That's incredible."

They also told them about Republic City, and the benders and non-benders and the things they do for other planets. They tried to explain the different weather events, but talking about hurricanes and tsunamis wasn't the most cheery thing for the Kytheran. It probably sounded terrifying, but they reassured them that they don't happen often.

"And your people are interesting," Kotharu said. "Though you have tried so many times to explain to me how your interactions work, still I do not understand."

Asami smiled. "Yeah, but we don't really understand it either."

The Kytheran chuckled. "That does make me feel better. But if I may say," they looked at the two of them, picking their words carefully. As difficult as it was for the humans to read Kytheran emotions, it was difficult for them to read theirs too. "Maybe your species' love for each other is to be envied."

"Well, humans don't really love that much back on Earth," Asami said. "We've too many wars and crises."

"That is a shame, but perhaps both a weakness and a strength. Maybe because you give it so sparingly, your love is that much more powerful."

There was a chance Kotharu was right. Thinking about their own time on Kythera, Korra and Asami looked at each other. There was no doubt that the fear and hardships they went through only strengthened their bond with one another. The sweet moments on the ship, or out by the lake, weren't overshadowed by the danger. They were only amplified.

As though the Kytheran realized what they were thinking, they added. "I have also never seen love like yours. I can only imagine it is wonderful."

The two of them smiled. "Yeah. It is."

Despite the happy moment, they couldn't help feeling the impending sadness of having to leave Kythera behind and never return.

"Would we ever meet again, Kotharu?" Asami asked.

" _Meet_ isn't the accurate word but I believe we will remember you for equinoxes to come. Kytherans never forget. And as for you, you have left with a gift. Every time you look into a dimension you didn't know existed before, you will be reminded that it is from your bond with Shyku."

The engineer was trying hard not to tear up, so she pressed her lips together and nodded faintly.

"I may misunderstand your kind's affection yet again, but would you like to embrace?" They asked, seeing the two humans grow increasingly sadder.

Without hesitation, they hugged all together. For Kotharu this was a new and exciting experience of human culture, and they understood at that moment that they were saying goodbye.

"If you ever need anything else," Korra said as they pulled away. "You can always reach out to us. Always."

The Kytheran smiled. "Thank you." They realized it was getting late and that the humans needed rest. "You should head back to your ship. You have a long journey ahead of you." They held up their hand in the Kytheran way of greeting and the two crewmates did the same.

"Thank you for teaching us so much," Asami said, as Kotharu was heading back out to look after the plants. She was afraid that if she lingered any more, she might burst into tears right there, so her and Korra started walking back too.

The Commander slid her arm around her as they made their way to the ship, hiding her own tears for the sake of looking strong, but she was hurting too. In all her years aboard the SS Raava, she had never had a mission quite like this.

* * *

The morning of their takeoff rolled around. They ate their breakfasts anxiously, thinking of all the last-minute preparations that needed to be done.

"I have thought of a way we could hide the ship's power source," Asami said. "It's the last thing we could possibly want to do, but I think it's the only way."

"We have no choice," Korra replied. "Go ahead."

They listened as the engineer detailed out her plan. They gulped at the thought of having to do that, but she was right. It really was the only way.

"Mako, make sure the systems are ready for that. Bolin, do one last inventory count and inspect the integrity of the bodywork. Asami, engine check, and Kuvira," Korra looked at the Lieutenant. Things were still uneasy between them and she regretted accusing her last night. "you're in the cockpit with me running the last checks."

Kuvira nodded, averting her gaze and making her way out already. The rest of the crew shortly followed.

Korra walked into the cockpit, seeing the Lieutenant already at her seat, running the flight control simulations. By her laid back expression, things seemed to be working fine.

"Hey, Kuvira?" Korra said, taking cautious steps towards her.

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry. About what I said the other night. I was just worried and-"

"It's fine."

The Avatar blinked twice. "What?"

"I said it's fine."

That was strange. She expected to have to do a whole speech on why she shouldn't have assumed Kuvira had bad intentions. This wasn't fair - she had it all somewhat planned out! "A-are you sure it's fine?"

"Yeah." She checked the handling. The calibration was fine.

Korra really didn't want to let it go. She didn't sound fine. "I shouldn't have implied you were a bad person. You're not. You've had my back so many times. You literally saved me that time on the Proxima Centauri mission."

She could see the Lieutenant smile slightly, remembering having to physically pull the Commander back into the spaceship after she accidentally opened the airlock too soon. Luckily they all had their spacesuits on beforehand. They were younger back then, and inexperience was dangerous.

"Or that time we fought off the parasites on Luyten B and neither of us had even _been_ to a planet outside our solar system before!" She smiled herself, carrying on. "Or, hell, even that time in the bar on the space station when you teased me so much about being a pussy that I actually went and made a move on that girl just to prove you wrong."

"She rejected you."

Korra chuckled. "She sure did."

Kuvira let out a snigger too at that. Korra sure was bad at flirting and she wondered how the engineer even fell for her in the first place. No, actually. She did know. Korra was a good and brave person. Asami was lucky.

"I wasn't as mad at you as much as I was mad at me," Kuvira said. "I snapped at you for not trusting me but I realized I wouldn't either." The simulation finished and she closed it down, turning to look at the Avatar. "I shouldn't be Commander."

"What? No, you totally cou-"

"No." She shook her head. "I let my impulses control me and I nearly got a whole peaceful species killed because of it. My road to Commander is insanely long, if it even exists. I don't know if I want to walk it."

"Well, we're still your crew anyway. You can learn from any mistake, and we know you do. You are actually a good person, Kuvira. You try to do what you think is right, and even if sometimes you're wrong, you always have good intentions."

The Lieutenant smiled. "Thank you, Korra." She hated sappy moments, but she let this slide, just this once. "Now get your ass in that seat and let's get off this planet."

* * *

"Status for take-off," Korra said over the intercom.

"Engine operational, no warnings. Proceed," she heard Asami's voice sound back.

"Whenever you're ready, Lieutenant."

Kuvira nodded, powering up the thrusters. The engine definitely sounded more powerful with the gems at its core.

"Shields are online," Mako said.

"Powered up to maximum, awaiting order, Commander."

Korra gulped. She took one last look at the brown desert outside. "Take-off."

The ship's engine roared as they lifted off the ground, blowing clay dust all around them. As they started to rise, Korra could just about make out the city of clay in the distance, becoming nothing more but a dot on the horizon as they headed further and further up.

"Coming up to escape velocity now," Kuvira said.

The whole crew looked out the windows at the dwindling land below them. The beauty of seeing a planet disappear beneath them felt more melancholic now.

"Exiting gravitational field. Setting course for Earth," the Lieutenant added.

"Goodbye, Kythera," Korra mouthed. Her throat was dry and sore with sadness.

They heard Asami's voice over the intercom again. "Engine systems healthy after gravitational pull." Even through the low-quality sound, they could make out her sad tone as they were leaving. "Cruising speed is safe."

As they were coming out of the solar system, they left the binary stars behind, seeing the 14 planets that were so beautifully depicted back in the Kytheran plaza in real life, but as they worked their way up to cruising speed, their surroundings behind them vanished. Traveling at the speed of light, they lost sight of the solar system they left.

"We'll reach transmission range soon, Commander," Kuvira said.

She sighed. "Bolin, get in touch with Iroh. Send in our reports, and remember what we talked."

The Seargent nodded.

* * *

Almost half a day into their journey, Bolin checked the radars. "We're coming up in range of Iroh's ships. I've sent the message."

Korra's heart was pounding. They were close enough.

"Mako," she said, turning to the firebender. "Deactivate the shield."

"Shields are offline, Commander."

She took a deep breath before going on the intercom. "Asami, we're ready."

"Got it."

Without any more hesitation, she sounded the alarm from her control panel. The ship's sirens blared, and the floors lit up to lead them to the exits. The emergency procedure triggered, and the automated message sounded.

"Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate."

They unbuckled their seatbelts with shaky hands, rushing out in a single file. Korra led them down the corridor to the evacuation ships, small and torpedo-shaped, each in individual rooms, enough to fit two people inside. Mako and Bolin buckled themselves into the first, followed by Kuvira into the second.

"Go," Korra said to them. "I need to wait for Asami."

The brothers saluted her. "Stay safe," Mako said.

"Don't stop to save the breakfast bars," Bolin said. "They're not that good."

They lowered their shield down, sealing the pod. The launch room closed before the front opened up, dragging the torpedo out with the rest of the air as its small engine came on.

She turned towards Kuvira. The Lieutenant powered the ship up and tested her seatbelt before looking up at the Commander. "See you on the other side, Korra." She smiled before her own launch room shut her out.

The Avatar took a deep breath, walking up the corridor to look for Asami. The siren was deafening.

"Evacuate. Evacuate."

Without Kuvira at the helm, the ship rocked, and she leaned on the wall for support. Finally, she saw the engineer rushing out from the under the hull, struggling to run against the turbulence.

"We've got 2 minutes," she said.

Korra nodded and they rushed to the last emergency pod. They hurried to throw their seatbelts on and switch the power on. Asami pulled the windshield down from above them and it clicked into place. As the doors to the launch room closed they looked at each other.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok," Korra took her hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

"I know, silly. I designed these."

The Avatar chuckled as the exit opened and they were shot out. Asami took control of the steering and rushed to get them as far from the ship as possible. Korra looked behind them. It was just as she had said. They really did only have two minutes.

In an instant, the ship exploded, engulfed by an impressive fireball devouring its bodywork. It was as if she saw it happen in slow motion, like a nuke going off in space. The destruction was catastrophic, and nothing of it would remain.

"Thank you, Raava. For everything." Korra muttered. She couldn't help the tear that rolled down her cheek. She had spent her whole career on that ship, but Kythera was safe this way.

Ahead of them, she could just about spot the other two other pods, and Iroh's ships coming to their rescue.

"We made it," Asami said.

Korra placed a kiss on her cheek. "All thanks to you."

The engineer smiled, turning to look into the Commander's eyes. "And you." She leaned in and kissed her lips, unable to stop her smile from growing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! And thank you to every comment/kudos ever, really every single one means so much so big thank you to everyone :D 
> 
> I would really love to write another fic in this AU that follows on from this one - as you heard, Atkova is in need of help too! So I do have planned to write the sequel, I just need to plan out the plot and get doing basically :D I have some fun science ideas I want to explore too :D Thus, this fic is getting put into a series now, so it can stay grouped with its sequel
> 
> Of course, as always, any feedback is appreciated if you have any! I've not written much sci-fi before so I wasn't sure how to explain the science bits so the story flows and sounds natural, but hey! Live and learn :D
> 
> Thanks! And maybe I'll see you on Atkova next :D


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